Weird, Alaska
by SayidRocks
Summary: The BAU team travels to a town called Weird, Alaska that is dealing with a possible serial killer. The residents and the Sheriff of Weird, Alaska are just a little, well, weird!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter One

/\/\/\/\

"Finally, as previously stated, our profiles are based on what's missing from a crime scene along with what is present at the scene."

Hotch looked out at the roomful of faces and said, "At this point Agent Morgan and I will take your questions."

"How many profilers currently work at the BAU?"

"There are currently twenty-nine members of the BAU," Hotch answered.

"Are there any female agents on your team?"

Morgan nodded to the blond woman who had asked the question. "Our team has seven members; six Special Agents plus our technical analyst. Two of our agents plus the technical analyst are female. Therefore, in the case of our team it's three out of seven, so pretty even."

"What sort of background do you need to apply to the BAU?"

Hotch smiled. "If you know anything about the history of the F.B.I. then you probably also know that in the beginning you had to be either a lawyer or an accountant." There was laughter from the assembled group. "You must first fit the requirements for the Special Agent position. Aside from the physical requirements, the age requirements and the ability to pass the background check; you must possess at least a four year college degree, three years of professional experience, a valid driver's license and be able to accept assignment anywhere in the F.B.I.'s jurisdiction. A law enforcement or military background or experience is not necessary. Special Agents with degrees or expertise in the physical sciences, computer science, engineering, architecture, law, accounting and other disciplines that require a mind trained for logical analysis and critical thinking are actively sought out. BAU members generally need additional professional experience and preferably some background in psychology." He turned toward Morgan before continuing. "Agent Morgan does have a background in law enforcement from his time with the Chicago P.D. However, it's not a requirement. I personally came to the BAU from a background as a Federal Prosecutor."

"It sounds like it takes a number of years to qualify to join the BAU. How old is your team's youngest member?"

"Our youngest team member is twenty-eight years old and has been on our team almost six years. Before that he was part of the Unit through a mentor. He is…exceptional."

"How do you decide which cases to work on? You must receive many more requests for your services than you handle."

Morgan nodded. "You're absolutely correct. Cases are generally presented to us through our liaison who is also a Special Agent and a member of our team. She reviews the cases and presents them to the team and we base our decision upon the information provided as well as the potential for further victims in addition to whatever instincts are triggered in our minds by the information we are given. As the gentleman who asked the question stated, we do unfortunately receive many more requests for our assistance than we can accommodate; even with all our agents and teams."

"Of course we would like to be able to accommodate everyone, but it simply cannot be done."

"Does politics play any part in what cases you chose?"

Hotch sighed. "I wish I could tell you politics play no role in what cases the BAU choses to work on; however, unfortunately I can't say that. I _can_ tell you we do try to keep politics out of our decisions as much as we possibly can. We've handled small cases, large cases; we've been to big cities, small cities… It really does _not_ matter who you are or who you know when you ask the BAU for their assistance and input."

After a couple more questions the seminar concluded and Morgan and Hotch began packing up the items they had used for their presentation. The two agents had been invited to conduct a seminar on profiling and the Behavioral Analysis Unit by the local F.B.I. Field Office in Seattle, Washington. The seminar had been conducted in a large lecture hall at the University of Washington due to the number of people who had requested to attend. Not all of the more than 150 attendees had been F.B.I. agents, however. There had also been members of a number of other law enforcement agencies present, including several members of the Alaskan State Police and local jurisdictions within Alaska who had traveled hundreds of miles to Seattle to attend. Morgan and Hotch acknowledged a number of compliments on their presentation from the departing attendees with smiles, nods, thank yous and a few handshakes. A few minutes later in the hallway outside the lecture hall they stopped and talked to some of the participants who had lingered. Both men had decided to be as accommodating as possible with answering questions and interacting with the local law enforcement officials because they were more than aware that locals didn't always appreciate what they saw as interference in their business from the Feds.

"Excuse me, Agent Hotchner, Agent Morgan? May I speak to you for a moment?"

Hotch and Morgan turned around to see the man speaking was the same person who had asked them how they decided which cases to take. "Of course," Hotch replied. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, if you don't mind… Could I maybe buy you a cup of coffee or something so we can go sit down someplace? This will take a few minutes to explain."

Morgan and Hotch looked at each other. "May I ask who we're speaking to, Sir?"

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Switching the briefcase he had been carrying to his left hand, the man extended his right hand to shake hands with Morgan and Hotch. "I'm Sheriff Jacob Reischl. I came down from Alaska." He showed his badge and identification to them both.

"Okay, I guess we can use some coffee, Sheriff. Let's go."

/\

"Let me see if I understand what you're telling us," Morgan was saying a few minutes later as the three men sat in a local Starbucks. "You think you have a serial killer in your town?"

"I don't know if it's a serial killer. I do know I have a series of murders that are unsolved and that pisses me off." Sheriff Reischl handed Hotch some photographs before continuing. "The photo on top is the body of an unidentified female found just outside my city limits three weeks ago. The other photos are of two additional females found several miles away but still within my jurisdiction, one found six months ago, the other about three months ago. As you can see all three of them were found posed in the same way, and all three were killed in the same manner with the same caliber of weapon, in addition to being strangled."

"You're taking this personally," Hotch said as he looked through the photos.

"You're damn right I am. This is my town and I don't like this happening in my town."

"You don't know any of these girls, Sheriff?"

"No, Agent Hotchner. They're not local."

"Is it possible they could have been dumped in your jurisdiction but not killed there?"

"I don't think so, Agent Morgan. I definitely think they were all killed where they were dumped. At least I believe they were shot there. And the posing indicates the killer spent some time at these locations."

"It does indicate that, yes." Hotch looked up from the photos. "Any signs of sexual assault?"

Sheriff Reischl nodded. "All three women appear to have been sexually assaulted. However, as you can see they were also all fully dressed. I don't have the means for a proper autopsy within my jurisdiction so the autopsies were all conducted by the medical examiner in Fairbanks. I did observe all three autopsies, though. There was DNA recovered from the first victim, and the State Police ran it through all the databases but they didn't get any hits on it. The M.E. believes all three of the women had been killed within seventy-two hours of when they were found."

"What's the name of your town, Sheriff?"

Sheriff Reischl smiled without humor. "It's Weird."

"Excuse me?"

"It's Weird, Agent Morgan. I am the Sheriff of a town called Weird, Alaska."

"What is this, some kind of a joke?"

"I assure you I am _not_ kidding."

"Sheriff, have you spoken to the Alaska State Police about this?"

"Agent Morgan, I am the Sheriff of a nowhere town with a ridiculous name that no one has ever heard of. You ask most people if they've ever heard of Weird, Alaska and they'll look at you like you're a nutcase. We're ten miles off the nearest major highway. I have one deputy and he's not even full time. I have less than 750 permanent residents within my jurisdiction, and several of those residents are what many people might consider loony. I fought and complained for months just to get one cell phone tower close enough to pick up a damn signal. We don't have our own fire department or a public library. Now just how seriously do you think I am being taken up there?" He snatched the photos from Hotch and put them back inside the file he had pulled them out of, slipped it into his briefcase and stood up. "Thank you for your time Agents."

"Hold on a second, Sheriff," Hotch said, standing up. "I think you may have misunderstood Agent Morgan's question."

"I have? How so?"

"Please sit back down." Once Sheriff Reischl was seated again Hotch continued. "It doesn't matter how big your town is, or how small your department is, you are the ranking law enforcement official in your jurisdiction. That means that you have the legal right to request our assistance. You don't need permission from the Alaska State Police or from anyone else, for that matter."

"You're serious?"

"Yes. You attended the seminar, Sheriff. You heard what we said."

"Tell us some more about your town," Morgan said. "Tell us how these women might have been killed in your jurisdiction if they're not local."

Sheriff Reischl sighed. "Well, as I said, Weird is ten miles off the nearest major highway. In this case that would be the Parks Highway, which is the main route between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Anyone traveling between Anchorage and Fairbanks in either direction could easily leave the Parks Hwy and wander into my jurisdiction. We do have a two lane paved highway leading from the town out to the Parks Hwy, and my jurisdiction extends for a twenty mile radius in all directions encompassing a number of residents of outlying homes and line cabins used for hunting and so on."

"So this could be someone who regularly travels between the two cities?"

"Yes, definitely. A lot of goods come in through Anchorage and are shipped inland to Fairbanks via the Parks Highway. We could be talking a truck driver, a businessman, a salesman… There are a lot of possibilities."

Hotch was silent for a moment. "Sheriff, if you will give us back the photos and your other information, I assure you we _will_ take a serious look at your case. We will get back to you one way or the other as soon as possible."

Sheriff Reischl looked from Hotch to Morgan and back. He reached into his briefcase, pulled out the file and handed it to Hotch. "I'm catching a flight to Anchorage in a little over three hours. I'm sure I'll be long gone before you've made a decision. How soon will you let me know?"

"We'll contact you as soon as possible."

"Okay." He reached into his briefcase again and pulled out two business cards, handing one to Morgan and the other to Hotch. "Phone number at the station, cell phone, and email is on there. Unless, of course, the satellite dish goes wacko, at which point I won't have email or Internet access. Or anything decent to watch on television." He stood up once more, shook hands with both Hotch and Morgan, thanked them and was gone.

/\

"Okay Garcia, what can you tell us about Sheriff Jacob Reischl?"

"Well Hot Stuff, aside from the fact the photos tell me this guy is a _major_ hottie…"

"Focus, Baby Girl!" Morgan teased. He looked over at Hotch to see he was shaking his head.

"Okay, Jacob Markus Reischl was born on Christmas Day 1960 in Los Angeles, California. He joined the military in 1979 where he later became an Army Ranger. He left the army in 2000 after twenty-one years of service. He has a degree in mathematics from UCLA. He is divorced with one son named David, who is now twenty-two years old and serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq. He took the job as Sheriff up in Alaska after leaving the army even though he had no law enforcement experience at the time. He raised his son as a single parent in Weird, Alaska, which is actually a real place." She paused for a moment. "Hmm…you know, I can't help but wonder what his son looks like since I haven't come across a picture of _him_ yet."

"Garcia!"

"Well, a girl can wonder, can't she?"

"Were you able to find anything on the murders?" Hotch asked.

"Other than what he's already told you, no. From what I can tell no one else seems to think there's a connection there."

"Thank you, Garcia."

"Are you going to look into this, Sir?"

"We don't know yet," Hotch replied.

"Just in case you do, I'd like to point out that I'm not averse to travelling to Alaska. Garcia out."

Morgan was chuckling and Hotch shaking his head when Garcia signed off and her image disappeared from the laptop. "What do you think, Hotch?"

"I don't know. Three murders, same M.O., same caliber weapon, all in the same jurisdiction. It probably should be handled by the Alaska State Police, who unfortunately, aren't taking Sheriff Reischl's suspicions seriously."

"It's a long way to travel."

"That shouldn't matter." Hotch thought for a moment. "I say we run it past Rossi and the others for their input before we make a decision."

"You're leaning toward going, aren't you?"

Hotch nodded. "Yes. I think I am."

/\/\/\/\

A/N: I already knew most of the job requirements to become an F.B.I. Special Agent, but I lifted most of what I put in off of the page.

4


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Two

/\/\/\/\

The team sat at the round table in their conference room looking at their individual copies of the information Sheriff Reischl had provided. "You really think this little town in the middle of nowhere has a serial killer?" Rossi asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Morgan commented.

"Sheriff Reischl is certainly convinced," Hotch added.

"What did the State Police say when you called them, JJ?" Reid asked.

"They told me the same thing they told Sheriff Reischl, that they believe the three murders to be just a coincidence."

Prentiss shook her head. "Calling it a coincidence seems a little convenient, don't you think? I mean, three victims all within a relatively small area when the UnSub has a state the size of Alaska to dump the bodies in?"

"The state of Alaska is the largest of the fifty United States. It consists of approximately 663,267 square miles, or 1,717,854 square kilometers, 86.23 percent of which is land area. The other 13.77 percent of area consists of water from 3,000 rivers and three million lakes. However, only ninety-four of those lakes have a surface area of more than ten square miles…" Reid's voice trailed off as he realized all six of his teammates were now staring at him.

"Thank you for the geography lesson, honey. I was never much good at it in high school," Garcia commented with a grin. Her comment elicited a laugh from Morgan.

"Do you know its 3,359 miles from D.C. to Anchorage, Alaska?"

"Thank you kid," Morgan commented.

"So tell us, Reid, what's the population of Alaska?" Rossi asked.

"As of the 2000 Census the population was approximately 626,932, which ranked Alaska forty-eighth amongst the states. However, the 2005 estimate puts the population at 663,661; which moves the state up one rank to forty-seventh in terms of population."

"So," Garcia said, leaning forward. "Is it true there are more men than women in Alaska?"

Reid nodded. "51.7 percent male versus 48.3 percent female. However, in some areas of the state the population disparity is much higher." He looked around at the others. "Um, she asked…"

"Yeah. Thanks a _lot_, Garcia!" Prentiss commented.

"Why haven't any of these three women been identified yet?" JJ asked.

"Sheriff Reischl said none of the three victims were local. If they're from elsewhere in Alaska there's no missing persons reports out that they could be matched up with; and they haven't been matched to any missing persons in the national databases either," Morgan answered.

"These women came from somewhere," Rossi commented. "Someone knows they're missing."

"No identification of the victims makes a profile that much more difficult." Reid stood up and walked over to the board where JJ had hung a large map of Alaska. He traced the Parks Hwy with a red marker from Anchorage to Fairbanks and then stood looking at the map for a moment. "Since the George Parks Hwy is the major route between Anchorage and Fairbanks that makes it one of the three most travelled routes in Alaska. I also noticed the first murder occurred six months ago, the second occurred three months ago, and the third only three weeks ago."

"Approximately three months apart. Might be a pattern," Hotch commented.

"Three months equates to what?" Morgan asked. "Maybe we have a businessman who travels quarterly between Anchorage and Fairbanks for a sales meeting or a presentation?"

"How far off the road were the bodies found?"

Hotch looked at the file. "The latest victim, the one found just outside the city limits was approximately one hundred feet north of the road connecting Weird to the Parks Hwy. Victim one was found one hundred feet east of the Parks Hwy just north of the junction of the road and the Hwy, while victim two was found 100 feet west of the Parks Hwy just south of the junction of the two roads."

"One hundred feet, one hundred feet…"

"What are you thinking, Reid?" Morgan asked.

"Hotch, you said the Sheriff's jurisdiction extends twenty miles in all directions from the town?"

"Yes."

"And Weird is ten miles from the Parks Hwy…" Reid stood looking at the map for a moment then turned to look at his teammates. "The Parks Hwy itself would be under the jurisdiction of the State Police. However, if the Sheriff's jurisdiction continues past the highway, which it apparently does for another ten miles, then the state jurisdiction begins a certain distance on one side of the highway and ends a certain distance on the _other_ side of the highway before Sheriff Reischl's jurisdiction begins again."

"So…the UnSub probably knows that," Rossi commented. "And perhaps was making sure to leave the victims in an area that would fall under local jurisdiction instead of state jurisdiction."

"Makes a lot of sense," Hotch commented.

"Do you know its 2,463 miles from Anchorage to Seattle, plus the approximate 250 miles the Sheriff had to drive to Anchorage to even get on a plane? He travelled a long way to get to your seminar." Reid looked back at the map. "All the officials that travelled from Alaska did, though some of them flew out of Fairbanks or other locations within the state."

"We know that already. What's your point?"

"I just thought I would mention it." Stung a little by Rossi's comment Reid stared intently at the map for a few seconds before drawing a small red circle on it.

"What's that?" Morgan asked, leaning forward.

"I found the town of Weird on this map."

"Good job, Spence. I couldn't find it when I looked," JJ commented.

"Here's the road," Reid said, his brow furrowed as he grabbed a different color marker and traced the short road from the town to the highway with it. "You can barely see it." He sat back down at the table and asked, "Does that little ten mile road have a name?"

"If it does I don't know what it is," Hotch answered.

"What's the weather like in that part of the state this time of year?"

Five members of the team looked expectantly at Reid. He looked down at the table and said nothing. "Well, ahem," Garcia said, flipping her laptop open. "Finding weather information on the Internet is easy."

"The average temperature in Anchorage for the month of April is 35.8 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average high of 42.8, and an average low of 28.6. In Fairbanks the average temperature is 30.7 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 20.4, and an average high of 41.0. Precipitation can be unpredictable. The weather around the town of Weird is likely to be within the temperature ranges of those two cities." Reid looked around the table. "So basically we would need jackets and gloves, maybe a hat and a scarf as well."

"But a parka and a heated space suit won't be necessary," Rossi quipped. His comment elicited a chuckle from Morgan and a small smile from Hotch.

"Garcia, we would like to have you along; however, it doesn't appear the facilities in Weird will be adequate for you to do your job. You would need to set up in Fairbanks, which is over one hundred miles away."

"One hundred miles is a lot closer than 3,359 miles," Garcia commented.

"I may be there with you, Penelope," JJ commented. "Once the State Police find out we're coming in there will be a reaction. Either they'll be pissed off, or they'll take Sheriff Reischl a lot more seriously. Regardless I'll need to act as a liaison between them, us and the Sheriff." She looked over at Hotch. "We _are_ coming in, right Hotch?"

"I have to admit, I was personally convinced before Sheriff Reischl left the room back in Seattle."

Morgan nodded. "He had me too."

"Why come all the way back, then? Why not stay there and just call the rest of us?" Rossi joked. "You could have saved yourself all the hassle of flying cross country again."

"We wanted to run the case by you and get your input. I also wanted to see Jack before we left again."

"Of course. I can certainly understand that."

"Okay everyone, go home, and pack appropriately. Meet at the airstrip in two hours. We'll be flying into Merrill Field at Anchorage and driving from there to Weird." He looked at his watch. "With the time difference between here and Alaska and the flying time involved we should arrive at approximately four pm local time."

"Who the hell decided to name a town 'Weird' anyway?" Rossi asked.

"Someone with a sick sense of humor, maybe?" Garcia cracked.

As the team rose from their chairs and gathered up their files Hotch said, "Reid, may I see you for a moment?" Morgan looked from Hotch to Reid as he left the room and Reid stayed behind. Once the others had filed out Hotch continued, "Reid, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Hotch."

"You don't seem quite like yourself today."

"In what way?"

"That thing about the weather, for example. If you know something you usually say so."

Reid shrugged. "People get tired of hearing me talk sometimes."

"Someone has said that to you recently?"

"Well, not in so many words…"

"Reid, I admit you can be irritating when you go off on tangents, but that doesn't mean you should feel uncomfortable with giving us information if you have it. After all this time I thought you would be over feeling that way." Hotch looked at him for a moment. "Reid, is something else bothering you? Things don't usually bother you like this."

"I, I don't know. Maybe I'm just feeling a little down right now." Almost as if he realized he might not have said the right thing he quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I can't go to Alaska. In fact I _want_ to go!"

"Reid, you're going. I was just a little concerned, that's all."

"I'm sorry, Hotch. I don't mean to make you to feel that way. I'm fine." He smiled. "Maybe that cool, fresh air up there in Alaska will be good for all of us."

"Maybe it will."

/\

Two hours into the plane ride everyone other than Reid and Hotch were asleep. Reid sat with a book in his lap and Hotch was reading files. "Hotch, you should try and get some sleep. This is a long flight with plenty of time to relax; and besides, you work too much anyway."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Hotch's mouth before he answered. "Thank you for your concern, Reid. It's appreciated. However, if I work on this now I should be able to nap the last couple hours of the flight."

"Oh, sure. I believe you're really going to sleep for two hours on this plane. When have you ever done that?"

"I'll tell you what Reid; if I haven't closed these files and tried to take a nap by the time we are within two hours of Anchorage you have my permission to pull them out of my hand and smack me with them."

Reid laughed out loud, causing Morgan, who was sitting across from him to stir. "Hunh, what?"

"Nothing Morgan, go back to your beauty sleep," Reid commented. "I can't believe you actually said that, Hotch."

"You've said you're trying to be more conversational, and I'm trying to exhibit some semblance of a sense of humor on occasion."

With a grin Reid reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a small travel alarm clock. "I'm holding you to your word. I'm setting the alarm on this clock for three hours from now. If I doze off I'm going to wake up and check to make sure you're actually getting some rest."

As Reid laid his head back against his seat back and closed his eyes Hotch quietly remarked, "I'm sure you will."

Three hours later Reid was startled awake by his alarm. He yawned, for a moment forgetting why he had set the clock in the first place. He looked around the plane, and saw Hotch dozing in his seat with a file folder still open on the table in front of him. Reid stood up, walked over to him, and picked up the file and closed it. He gathered up all the folders that had been sitting in front of Hotch and slid them into his briefcase. He then returned to his own seat, leaned his head back against the seat once more and dozed off again within a few minutes.

/\

"What time zone are we in now?" Morgan asked; yawning as the team prepared for the plane to land in Anchorage.

"Alaska Daylight Time," Reid responded. "Most of Alaska is in the same time zone, except for the Western Aleutian Islands which are on Hawaii-Aleutian Time. We are currently one hour behind Pacific Time, four hours behind Quantico, and eight hours behind Greenwich Mean Time…" His voice trailed off as he noticed a couple of his teammates rolling their eyes. He busied himself resetting the time on his watch. He flipped open his cell phone to check the time on it as well, though he knew the time would automatically set itself to the local time based on what cell phone towers the signal was bouncing off of.

"It's okay, Spence," JJ said. "Just a little more info than a couple of us felt like hearing when we just woke up and are feeling grouchy."

"Reid," Hotch called as the younger agent headed for the exit.

"Yes, Hotch?"

"Thank you."

Reid's brow furrowed. "For what?"

"For actually waking up to check on me and also for putting the folders away. I know it was you who did that."

Reid smiled. "No problem, Hotch. I told you I would make sure you were resting."

As the team exited the plane they could see two Bureau SUVs waiting for them. In addition they saw a black Ford Expedition with standard police lights on its roof and a star logo on its side sitting next to their vehicles. As they approached the vehicles they saw a tall, slender man with longish dark hair walk around the front of the Expedition and head toward them. He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a long-sleeved thermal shirt. Garcia leaned over toward Prentiss and JJ. "See what I mean, ladies? Sheriff Jacob Reischl in the flesh. Mighty fine, right?"

"Unh, hunh," Prentiss commented. "Good description, Penelope."

"I have to admit though, he looks better in person than in the pictures I saw."

"Ladies!" JJ said, trying not to laugh.

"Agent Hotchner," Sheriff Reischl said, extending his hand. "It's really good to have you here." He looked at Morgan and nodded. "Agent Morgan, good to see you again."

"You really didn't have to come all the way down here to meet us," Hotch commented. "But thank you for doing so."

"It's the least I could do, Agent Hotchner." He looked around expectantly at the rest of the group.

"Everyone, this is Sheriff Jacob Reischl. Sheriff Reischl, this is SSA David Rossi, SSA Jennifer Jareau, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia."

"David Rossi? _The _David Rossi? I had no idea you were part of the team. I've read several of your books. This is very cool."

"Thank you."

"I guess I spoke to you on the phone, nice to meet you," he said to JJ. She nodded. "Agent Prentiss, nice to meet you. Miss Garcia, nice to meet you as well." He looked at Reid. "Hmm. You must be the exceptional one."

"Uh, excuse me?"

Morgan chuckled. "At the seminar one of the questions asked was how old was the youngest member of the team. Hotch said the youngest member was twenty-eight and had been with the BAU almost six years, and with a mentor in the Bureau before that. He also said you were exceptional."

Reid blushed. "Oh, uh, thank you, Hotch."

"Thanks Sheriff," Hotch commented. "Now he'll have a swelled head."

"I don't know how you all handle protocol with names, but I personally don't think it's necessary for people to be calling me Sheriff Reischl all the time. Most of the people in town just refer to me as Sheriff or Jacob. You can handle it however you're comfortable handling it."

"No problem," Morgan answered. "We're not overly formal with names for the most part."

"We have three vehicles here, mine and your two. I guess we'll have to figure out who wants to ride with whom before we start on our way." He reached for one of the bags Garcia was carrying. "Here, let me help you with that." Garcia handed her computer bag over with a silly grin on her face.

As everyone once again started walking toward the vehicles Garcia commented, "He has just a little gray at the temples. And beautiful gray eyes."

JJ nudged Prentiss with her elbow. "What?"

"Look higher, girl. Your eyes are aimed too low."

"JJ!"

"They are, honey!" Garcia laughed as she observed Sheriff Reischl talking to Hotch as they walked.

"You have to admit the back view and the front view are both pretty good," Prentiss replied.

"Ladies, can we please try to remember we are professionals here, and that Sheriff Reischl is a law enforcement official we are here to help solve a case?"

"We can try, but I ain't dead, JJ!" Garcia commented.

"We just got off a flight of over seven hours. So we're a little punch drunk," Prentiss joked.

"I'll drive one of the SUV's," Hotch was saying. "Rossi can drive the other. Okay, who wants to ride where?"

"I'll ride with the Sheriff," Morgan commented.

"Do you mind if I do as well?" Reid asked.

"Of course not."

"Damn those boys!" Garcia grumbled. "There goes _my_ chance to ride with him!"

"Okay then, Morgan and Reid will ride with Sheriff Reischl; JJ you're with me, Garcia and Prentiss with Rossi."

Sheriff Reischl placed Garcia's computer bag into Rossi's SUV while the others stowed their bags in whatever vehicle they were riding in. As Reid set his messenger bag on the back seat of the Expedition he said, "Sheriff, if you don't mind…at some point I'd love to hear your thoughts on possibly moving the State Capital from Juneau to Anchorage or some other location."

"Reid…" Morgan started to say.

"No problem, Agent Reid. The most recent initiative was in 2002 and it failed. That was the sixth attempt by ballot initiative, and there have also been three legislative referrals. I'm sure they'll get it on the ballot again at some point. Once we get going here I'll be happy to discuss the pros and cons with you." He shut the back of the Expedition after Reid and Morgan put their bags inside. "I'm just happy to see that someone from the Lower Forty-Eight even knows anything about moving the capital, let alone is seeking out an opinion on the idea." He looked at the group. "Well, you've all had a long flight. Would you like to grab something to eat or drink before we set out? We're talking better than four hours of driving to get to Weird."

"Not a bad idea," Hotch said. "We're in your hands. What do you recommend?"

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "Depends on what you like. Just follow me, I know a place." He climbed into the driver's seat of the Expedition, with Morgan in the passenger seat and Reid in the back seat. The others climbed into the respective vehicles, and followed the Sheriff as he maneuvered his vehicle out of the parking area.

/\/\/\/\

A/N: You have to love the Internet because it makes it _so_ much easier for me to look up statistics for Reid to quote…

A/N: Weird is almost twice as far from Anchorage as it is from Fairbanks. However, I decided to fly the team into Anchorage and have them drive the longer distance past Denali and other locations.

7


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Three

/\/\/\/\

"This place is great," Reid commented, as he looked around at the rustic décor of the restaurant Sheriff Reischl had brought them to.

The Sheriff nodded. "The food is nothing fancy, but it's delicious. You'll have to come back sometime for breakfast and check out the size of the pancakes and omelets they serve."

Morgan raised his eyebrows as he perused the menu. "They have a double cheeseburger with two half pound patties plus bacon."

"It comes with three slices of cheese plus fries," Reischl added.

Morgan laughed. "You can eat all that, Sheriff?"

"I've been known to." He shrugged. "But I don't get down here very often." He laughed. "My son could finish one off easily."

"You must be very proud of your son," Hotch commented.

Sheriff Reischl looked at him. "I alternate between moments of intense pride and sheer terror. I keep telling myself to stay away from news about Iraq, yet I can't help wanting to seek out information regarding what's going on where he is."

Hotch nodded. "I can certainly understand those feelings."

"What the heck is chicken fried steak?" Rossi asked.

"It is round steak, tenderized and dipped in some kind of a batter mixture and then fried like chicken."

"No chicken involved then?"

"No, Agent Rossi," Reischl chuckled.

"Hmm…makes sense to me, I guess." Rossi looked up from the menu. "What do you recommend, Sheriff?"

"My tastes are fairly simple. I'm perfectly happy eating a burger and fries. The menu here more or less reflects my tastes. It reminds me a lot of a place I used to stop at down in Flagstaff, Arizona when I drove from Los Angeles to a place a friend owned in Northern Arizona. The main fare is burgers and fries, a few sandwiches, and items like meat loaf and chicken fried steak."

"Diner fare," Hotch commented.

"Pretty much." He looked at Rossi. "Agent Rossi, I suggest the chili size. It's a burger, open faced on a bun, topped with chili, onions, and cheese and including fries on the side. The chili is homemade, by the way."

"Why not?" Rossi commented, closing his menu.

A few minutes later their waiter came over and took their orders. Morgan and Reid decided to take up the challenge of trying to eat the double cheeseburger, which lead to teasing from JJ. "That burger probably weighs more than you do Spence," she joked.

"I want to try it," Reid answered.

"I bet I eat more than you do," Morgan teased.

"I bet I finish it all," Reid responded.

Fifteen minutes later all eight of them had their food and the looks on Reid and Morgan's faces when they saw how big their cheeseburgers actually were elicited laughter from JJ, Garcia and Prentiss. Rossi grinned as he and Sheriff Reischl dug into their chili sizes, Hotch started on his club sandwich, JJ started on her meat loaf, and Prentiss and Garcia started on smaller cheeseburgers. A little while later everyone was done, except Morgan who looked like he wasn't going to be able to finish, and Reid who had a small portion of his cheeseburger left. After eating the last few French fries on his plate Reid picked up the rest of his burger and finished it in a few more bites.

"Well kid," Morgan remarked. "I guess you win. You're finished and there's no way I can eat the rest of this." Sheriff Reischl looked on in amusement as Reid smiled and blushed when Garcia and JJ started applauding his accomplishment.

"Sheriff, I wanted to ask you about the State Capital issue?" Reid asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Reid, maybe we could talk about this later?"

"No, I don't have a problem with talking about it, Agent Morgan. What do you know about Juneau as far as a State Capital, Agent Reid?"

"Juneau is the most geographically isolated state capital in the United States. It is not reachable by car and must be accessed via boat or plane. The City and Borough are located in the Gastineau Channel in the Alaska Panhandle, and it has been the capital since 1906 when the government of the Alaska Territory was moved there from Sitka. Juneau was the largest city in Alaska until it was passed by Anchorage in 1950." Reid opened his mouth to continue, but changed his mind after looking around the table at his fellow team members.

"Very good. Do you know how far Juneau is from Barrow?"

"1093 miles," Reid replied without any hesitation.

"How about Nome?"

"1097 miles."

"Very good, Agent Reid. I'm not sure how you knew all that…"

"I have an eidetic memory; therefore it's not at all difficult to remember."

"As long as you read it somewhere?"

"Exactly."

"Hmm. I see. Well, to add to what you've already said, Fairbanks is 624 miles from Juneau, and Anchorage is 569 miles. Of course those distances would be different if the city were accessible by road, however as you already know it's not. Distance and isolation along with access are the biggest factors for most people who want to move the capital. Alaska is already an expensive state to live in, and any time someone has business with the legislature or the state government they are forced to make a long and expensive trip. I've had to do it myself, and I can tell you getting to Juneau, especially in the winter with the weather issues and the avalanche danger, is a pain in the ass." He looked at Garcia, Prentiss and JJ. "Excuse my language, ladies."

"Huh…no problem," Garcia smiled.

Sheriff Reischl smiled back at her before continuing. "On the other hand, moving the capital would cost in the neighborhood of a billion dollars, and most people simply don't want to pay for it. In addition, Juneau is a beautiful city, and some people have even referred to it as a 'little San Francisco'. The city has put in a lot of effort to keep the capital in Juneau with ideas like cable television hookups on the city website so business can still be conducted even if a trip to the capital is not feasible at that time. And then there's tradition and the fact that Alaskans in general are just plain stubborn."

"So, are you saying you think the capital should be moved or it should stay in Juneau?" Reid asked, looking confused.

Reischl shrugged. "The capital was in Juneau before I got here, before I was born in fact, and it's still there now. I don't think it's moving any time soon. Whether it should stay or be moved, there are good arguments on both sides. For me personally it would be easier if the capital were located elsewhere. However, that doesn't mean it _should_ be moved. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject, Agent Reid, other than you should visit Juneau sometime."

"Uh, okay. Thank you."

Sheriff Reischl looked around the table. "Anyone up for dessert? They serve an excellent homemade apple pie here."

"I couldn't eat another thing," Prentiss groaned.

"Me either," Morgan laughed, pushing his plate away from him. Rossi, Hotch, JJ and Garcia all declined dessert as well.

"I'll try a piece of apple pie," Reid said.

Sheriff Reischl called their waiter over and ordered a piece of apple pie for himself and one for Reid. He turned back to the others. "It's almost 5:30 pm right now. We may be able to reach Weird before the sun sets at around 9:45 pm; however I recommend you don't try to reach Fairbanks tonight."

"I agree," Hotch said. "We'll all stay at the hotel in Weird tonight, and tomorrow JJ and Garcia will continue on to Fairbanks." As Reid and Sheriff Reischl ate their pie, he signaled the waiter for the check, handed him a credit card and then signed the slip he provided, adding a generous tip to the charge.

A few minutes later the entire group was standing outside by the vehicles. "We have a little over 250 miles to go to reach Weird. First we'll be driving north out of Anchorage for thirty-five miles on the Glenn Highway to where it interconnects with the Parks Highway. At that point we will pass through Wasilla and head north toward Fairbanks on the Parks Highway. We will pass by Denali National Park and we'll be able to see Mount McKinley from the highway."

"Mount McKinley is the highest point in North America at 20,320 feet in elevation. In 1980 the name of the National Park and the Mountain were both changed to Denali. However, many people still refer to it as Mount McKinley, and several native people have their own names for the mountain…" He trailed off, once more noticing some of his team members rolling their eyes.

"Reid," Morgan sighed.

"Right. That's about it, I guess."

"Not really, Agent Reid. That's nowhere near 'it' as far as Mount McKinley is concerned." The Sheriff looked directly at him. "We can talk about it later. Sometimes you can see it from here, but not today, unfortunately. When we're close enough for a better view I'll be sure and point it out to you." He looked around at the others. "Before we get going here, does everyone have plenty of mosquito repellent?"

"Oh yes, Sheriff, JJ told us you recommended we all bring some," Hotch told him.

"I told them also," Reid added. "I brought extra."

"Of course you did," Prentiss commented.

Sheriff Reischl looked from Prentiss to Reid but didn't say anything to either of them. "So we don't need to stop anywhere then? Good. It's not a particularly difficult drive, so I don't imagine any of us will have any trouble, but I'll lead the way and the rest of you can follow." He turned to Reid and Morgan. "You'll be riding with me again?" When both men nodded he turned to Hotch. "Are you ready, Agent Hotchner?"

"Yes, let's hit the road. And, it's Hotch."

Sheriff Reischl smiled. "Okay Hotch." Once again Reid climbed into the back seat of the Expedition while Morgan and the Sheriff climbed into the front. Hotch and JJ climbed into one of the Bureau SUV's and Ross, Prentiss and Garcia climbed into the other.

/\/\/\/\

A/N: Okay, a little lame, but I wanted to get this next chapter up!

6


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

A/N: I have been trying to finish this chapter for several days now. I suddenly realized today it was getting a little unwieldy. Therefore, even though time wise it takes place over only about five hours, I've decided to split the trip from Anchorage to Weird into two chapters. I'll get Chapter Five up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Four

/\/\/\/\

"The first nine miles of the Glenn Highway heading out of Anchorage are designated as the Veterans Memorial Parkway. That's what we're traveling on right now," Sheriff Reischl informed Morgan and Reid.

"Sheriff, does the road to your town have an official name?"

"No, Agent Reid. We just refer to it as 'The Weird Connection' as a joke."

Morgan laughed. "That's funny."

"Well, live life with a sense of humor, right? Especially when you live in a town called Weird. By the way, we just passed the exit that leads to the Boniface Gate at Elmendorf Air Force Base; and we'll be passing by the exit to Arctic Valley Road, which accesses Fort Richardson Army Base."

"Sheriff, what did you do in the Army?" Reid asked.

"I was an Army Ranger."

"We know that. It's part of your military record," Morgan said.

"You've checked up on me then? Good, I would have expected you to do that. Hell, I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't."

"Hotch _did_ have Garcia check up on you. We had to be sure…"

"You had to be sure I wasn't a crackpot, Agent Morgan. I get it. I wouldn't have expected any less from the F.B.I. So, do you have any questions you'd like to ask about the background check you did on me?"

"I have one; why a degree in mathematics?" Reid asked.

"I like math. I'm good with numbers. If I hadn't been transferred overseas I might have gone for a higher degree. By the way, did I mention we should be watching for moose?" He merged to the left as the highway narrowed from three to two northbound lanes.

"We seriously have to watch for moose?" Reid asked.

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "Yes really, Agent Reid."

"You haven't memorized all the guide books that tell you that yet, Reid?" Reid looked at Morgan but didn't reply.

Reischl glanced quickly at Morgan but then returned to looking at the road in front of him. "A lot of visitors either expect to see moose walking down the street somewhere, or they just don't believe it when the guidebooks instruct them to 'watch for moose'." The three men drove in silence for a few minutes before he continued, "Why would Agent Reid memorize guide books, Agent Morgan?"

"My boy usually likes to know everything about the locations where we go."

"Nothing wrong with that."

Morgan glanced at him. "I didn't say there was."

"What's this coming up on the right?" Reid asked.

"That would be the exit to the Old Glenn Highway. It's an alternate route that takes you through Palmer and to the Knik Glacier. It's only a few more miles to the Glenn-Park Interchange, then we'll be heading north on the Parks Highway."

"The Glenn-Park Interchange includes five bridges and over three million tons of embankments," Reid offered.

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "I'm not sure where you got that from, Agent Reid."

"Ahem…well… I found it in a guidebook, _'The Milepost: Alaska Travel Planner'_," Reid said sheepishly.

"Where did you read all this stuff? On the plane?" Morgan asked.

"Yes. I grabbed copies of three different guidebooks at a bookstore on the way to the airstrip and read them on the plane."

"_All_ of them?" the Sheriff asked incredulously. "_'The Milepost'_ is about eight hundred pages. You couldn't have read the entire book plus two others!"

"I can read 20,000 words per minute, Sheriff."

"You can read _what_?"

"I can read 20,000 words per minute."

There was silence in the vehicle for a few moments. "We're now travelling north on the Parks Highway," Sheriff Reischl finally commented. "We only have another four hours or so until we get to Weird," he joked.

"What's the speed limit on this highway?" Morgan asked.

"In some places its sixty-five, in other places it's fifty-five. You just have to pay attention to where you are and what the posted speed limit is." He looked in the rear view mirror at Reid before continuing. "Agent Reid, I'm trying to get my mind around this 20,000 words per minute concept. I get the eidetic memory; however, do you remember _everything_ you read if you read it so quickly?"

"Yes, everything. Some of it I _try_ to forget, but it usually doesn't work out that way."

"Huh. You're a genius aren't you?"

"I don't believe that intelligence can really be properly quantified and measured, but I do have an IQ of 187. Yes, I'm a genius."

"I see. Well, you have me beat. My IQ is 160."

"You're a genius also."

"So I've been told. I also have a photographic memory. Do you know the most accurate types of IQ tests are taken while the subject is unaware they are being tested, Agent Reid?"

"Uh, yes, I did know that."

"He graduated from high school at age twelve," Morgan added. "He also has six college degrees."

"Twelve? I was sixteen when I graduated high school, and I only have one degree. What subjects are your degrees in?"

"I have PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering; and I also have B.A.s in Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy."

"No wonder you were interested in why I went for a degree in mathematics. We're going to have to discuss this a little more. I don't often run into people with as much interest in math as I have. When did you have time to obtain all those degrees?"

"I had all the PhDs by the time I turned eighteen. I just recently obtained the Philosophy degree."

"You're starting to scare me, Agent Reid."

Morgan laughed. "He has that effect on people sometimes."

"Sheriff, can you tell us more about your town? I mean, what are the people like and all that?" Reid asked.

"They're normal, small town people, I guess. Of course they're pretty tough in many respects, most people from Alaska are. You have to be, I think." He laughed. "We do have a few oddballs. I suppose that's a given in a way when you live in a town named 'Weird'. A few of my residents are probably a 'little funny in the head' as I heard it put in a movie once."

"I know, _'Wyvern'_.* Claire said in that movie the twenty four hours of sunlight made some of them 'funny in the head'," Morgan said.

"What was the name of the movie?" Reid asked.

"'_Wyvern'_. It was a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie about a small town in Alaska being attacked by a flying wyvern." Morgan said.

"A wyvern is a two-legged, winged dragon with a long, barbed tail from medieval mythology. Uh, the word 'wyvern' comes from the earlier wiver, a special use of Middle English wyver, and guivre, for 'serpent' or 'viper'." Reid noticed Morgan was looking back at him and he stopped talking.

Sheriff Reischl looked at Reid in the rear view mirror and then glanced at Morgan. "The word wivre is Old North French, and guivre is Old French."

"Uh, right. I was…going to say that."

"I bet you were," Morgan commented.

"Uh, I guess it was science fiction, this movie; however what was a wyvern doing flying around Alaska?"

"It was roused from its ancient slumber by melting icecaps caused by global warming. It basically had been frozen in an iceberg for hundreds of years until it melted."

"Sounds brilliant," Reid commented.

"Actually it was a lot of fun. I have the DVD at home. You'll have to watch it sometime, Agent Reid. Along with _"Marabunta'_**, which is all about killer ants that have been lying dormant for years awakened by subterranean seismic forces to threaten the residents of the fictional Alaskan town of Burley Pines." Sheriff Reischl laughed. "That one actually wasn't half bad. Of course neither of them was actually filmed in Alaska."

/\

In the SUV following directly behind the three men JJ said, "What do you think they're talking about up there, Hotch?"

Hotch shook his head. "I have no idea. With Reid in the car with them, you never know how many tangents the discussion might run off on."

JJ laughed. "True. However, Sheriff Reischl seems to be somewhat receptive to Spence's ramblings." She twisted around to look behind them at the third vehicle being driven by Rossi. "Rossi is the one we should worry about; he's trapped in a car with Penelope Garcia for four or five hours. You know I love Garcia, but once she gets started on a topic she talks as much as Reid does."

Hotch exhibited one of his rare smiles. "Perhaps even more so," he quipped.

/\

"I didn't have a chance to mention it, but a ways back we passed the shop where I bought my Harley. It's actually located just a couple miles north of the Junction."

"You ride a Harley?" Morgan asked.

"Not as often as I would like. It's great being out on the open road on a bike like that." He glanced over at Morgan. "Three of my buddies from California rode their Harleys all the way from Los Angeles through the Western United States and up through Canada along the Alaskan Highway and into Alaska. I met them in Tok; however, I would have loved to have made the entire trip with them. After Tok we rode into Fairbanks, took a few side trips all over the area, including Denali National Park, and then rode down into Anchorage. They eventually booked passage on a ship and sailed down to Vancouver and then rode south down through Washington, Oregon, and Northern California into Southern California and eventually back into Los Angeles."

"Sounds like a great trip. When did all this happen?" Morgan asked.

"Back in 2002. David was staying with his grandparents in Reseda for a few weeks over the summer, so I was able to take some time to go along with the guys for part of the trip."

"It sounds wonderful. I would love the chance to actually see some of this scenery up close," Reid remarked.

"You might have a chance to see a few of the sights…" Sheriff Reischl was interrupted by the sound of Bruce Springsteen singing _'Backstreets'_.

"Cool ringtone," Morgan commented.

The Sheriff smiled and looked at the Caller I.D. on his cell phone, which was plugged into a hands free device attached to the Expedition's stereo system. "It's David," he remarked. He pressed a button on the phone and said, "Hello? David?"

"_Hey Dad," a faint voice said._

"David, I can barely hear you. Where are you calling from?"

"_Believe it or not, we're back in Baghdad."_

"Again?" David's reply was garbled, and sounds of static came through the speakers. "David? Are you still there?"

"_Yes," came the very faint reply._

"David, I'm on the road. I'm going to pull off so I can talk to you. Hold on for a minute."

"_Okay, Dad."_

Sheriff Reischl pulled the Expedition off the road and on to the shoulder and said, "I'm going to stop and take this call outside the vehicle. Maybe I can get the signal to come in a little stronger. We're just coming into Willow, so there are places where you can grab something to drink or just wander around for a few minutes. Excuse me." He grabbed the phone out of the holder and put it up to his ear as he walked away from the SUV. "David?"

"Did you know Willow was where they intended to move the capital back in 1976? The funding for the move dried up, however, after the 1982 election. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart was from Willow Lake instead of Wasilla in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007."

"How come?"

"I believe there was a lack of snow. The ceremonial start is in Anchorage, but then they travel through Eagle River, drive to Wasilla and restart the race from there. However, apparently there wasn't enough snow there those years so they restarted from Willow instead."

"What's going on?" Hotch asked, as he and JJ walked up beside them.

Morgan turned around to see Rossi, Garcia and Prentiss walking up to them as well. "Sheriff Reischl's son just called from Iraq, and the signal was really weak, so he pulled off the road to take the call." They all looked at the Sheriff standing about a hundred yards away talking on his cell phone.

"That gives us a few minutes to stretch our legs," Rossi said.

Reid turned around in a circle, taking in the vista in all directions. "Amazing," he said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then a smile touched his lips. He opened his eyes and said, "Anyone want to walk to that little grocery over there with me?" Without waiting for an answer he started walking. Garcia hurried after him, calling that she was coming.

"You know, I think Spence likes it here," JJ commented.

"Yes," Hotch added. "He's been a little down lately. Even though we're here on a case, I'm hoping just being here will help to raise his spirits a little."

/\/\/\/\

*Nick Chinlund, who starred in the Sci-Fi Original Movie _'Wyvern'_, appeared as Max Weston in the Season Two episode _Distress_.

**_'Marabunta'_ is also known as _'Legion of Fire: Killer Ants'_. Mitch Pileggi, one of the movie's stars, appeared as Norman Hill in the Season Four episode _Normal_.

9


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Five

/\/\/\/\

The five team members stood talking amongst themselves while they waited for Sheriff Reischl to finish his call, and for Reid and Garcia to come back from the grocery. "Everything okay, Sheriff?" Hotch asked, seeing him approach.

"Everything is fine, thank you Hotch. David's unit is back in Baghdad for three days. Seeing as how they're in a Green Zone, maybe I can relax a little. Not that Baghdad is the safest place in the world by any stretch of the imagination."

"My son Jack is four years old. I can't imagine how I would be reacting if he were where your son is right now."

Sheriff Reischl sighed. "It isn't easy to deal with, that's for certain."

"I can't get over this scenery," Rossi commented.

"Most people can't, Agent Rossi. It's quite spectacular, isn't it?"

"Definitely."

"Agent Reid and Miss Garcia are on their way back."

"Reid and I went to the restroom. Anyone else need to go?" Garcia announced cheerfully as they approached. The rest of the group indicated they were fine.

"Garcia, only you would make a public announcement you had used the restroom," Prentiss teased.

"We brought everyone bottled water and granola bars," Reid added, passing plastic bottles and granola bars to each member of the group.

"Thank you Agent Reid," Sheriff Reischl said, immediately opening his water and taking a drink. He pointed to the north. "If it was clear we would be able to see Mt. McKinley from here. When you're able to see it from this distance it almost looks like it's floating in the air."

"The man at the store was talking about the salmon fishing in this area," Reid commented. "Do you know Alaska has all five species of Pacific salmon?"

The Sheriff nodded. "It is good if you like to fish. Me, I don't catch them, I only eat them."

Morgan chuckled as the group headed back to their vehicles. "I don't mind catching them; it's the cleaning I don't like."

"A few miles up the road the speed limit changes to sixty-five miles an hour; and about twenty miles after that it changes back to fifty-five miles an hour."

"Uh, I noticed in the guidebook sometimes the speed limit northbound and southbound is different on the same stretch of highway."

"When in doubt just watch the speed limit signs," Rossi quipped.

"That's pretty much it," Sheriff Reischl commented.

The group climbed back into their respective vehicles and they were soon back on the Parks Highway heading north. "So Reid," Morgan said. "What _are_ the five species of Pacific salmon?"

"King, silver, pink, cum and red," Reid answered with satisfaction.

Sheriff Reischl smiled. "What type of music do each of you listen to?"

"I prefer classical, but I'm okay with some popular music."

"I like a lot of different types of music," Morgan said.

Sheriff Reischl switched on the radio. "I can pick up this rock radio station broadcasting from Anchorage fairly well. When I lose it I pop in a CD." The sound of U2 singing _Beautiful Day_ soon filled the SUV. As they passed the Talkeetna Spur Road, he pointed out Talkeetna was an aviation and supply base for climbing expeditions to Mount McKinley.

Reid lowered his window and looked out with the breeze whipping his hair around. "I would _love_ to see more of this scenery. I want to really look at Alaska close up sometime. I've never seen any place like this."

"You'll have to come back on vacation sometime, Agent Reid. Alaska isn't going anywhere; it will still be here." He glanced in the rear view mirror at the younger agent. "It's a harsh but beautiful place; and you've only begun to see what Alaska has to offer. You've barely scratched the surface of this place."

"Reid, roll up the window man! It's cold," Morgan complained.

"Don't be such a wimp, Morgan!"

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "You two don't talk or act like any F.B.I. agents I've met before."

"Have you met a lot of F.B.I. agents?" Reid asked.

"A few. I met a whole pile of them down in Seattle."

"What about Hotch?"

"He kind of fits the image of an F.B.I. agent, physically at least."

"Hotch is definitely one of the best," Morgan said.

"I don't doubt it," Sheriff Reischl answered. Suddenly he reached over and turned the radio up and _Pour Some Sugar On Me_ by Def Leppard filled the car.

Reid shook his head. "I don't get this song. I don't dislike it; I just don't get the meaning. I put sugar in my coffee, but why would anyone want to pour sugar on themselves?"

"Uh, Reid…" Morgan began.

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Never mind? Why?"

"Agent Reid, have you ever heard someone say 'give me some sugar' when they were asking for a kiss?"

"Not that I can recall. Like I said, I use sugar in my coffee."

"Right, ridiculous amounts of it."

"Morgan!"

Sheriff Reischl suppressed a chuckle. "Agent Reid, 'give me some sugar' in this case is slang for 'give me a kiss'. Do you follow?"

"Yes, okay."

"So, if 'give me some sugar' refers to a kiss, what do you think 'pour some sugar on me' refers to?"

"Well, I… Oh. Okay. I, uh, think I get it now." Reid blushed. He cleared his throat and then continued to blush while wondering why he had to have something like this explained to him.

"Great, missed half the song talking about it," Morgan laughed.

"If you and Prentiss and the others would explain things to me the first time I ask instead of saying 'never mind' I wouldn't have to be embarrassed so often by not knowing what something means," a still blushing Reid said as he folded his arms in front of him.

"When did you ever ask me about this song?"

"That time someone played it on the jukebox in that diner we ate at in Arizona. You laughed and Prentiss said 'never mind, Reid'. That was years ago you could have explained it to me."

"Oh. Sorry, Reid."

"Whatever, Morgan."

Morgan looked over at Sheriff Reischl. "Everything you never wanted to know about the BAU 101," he joked.

"Right," the Sheriff responded.

They continued to head north toward their destination with Sheriff Reischl providing occasional commentary on the sights and scenery they were passing. When he mentioned they should be watching for bears, Reid sat up straight and asked where, eliciting laughter from Morgan. They passed the Alaska Veteran's Memorial Rest Area without stopping, though the Sheriff pointed it out to them, and a few minutes later he pulled the vehicle off the road and parked. "Where are we now?" Reid asked.

"Climb out and look to the north," Sheriff Reischl replied. Reid and Morgan opened their doors, climbed out and looked off to the north.

"We can finally see Mount McKinley," Reid said, as he looked to the north.

Morgan turned around as the two Bureau SUVs came to a stop behind the Expedition. "What's up?" Hotch called out to them.

"We just got out for a minute so Agent Reid could catch a view of Mt. McKinley."

"Hey Reid," Hotch called. "Sorry, but it's getting late. Come on, back in the car."

Reid sighed and reluctantly climbed back into the Expedition and fastened his seatbelt as Morgan also climbed back in. Sheriff Reischl put the vehicle into gear and pulled back on to the highway. "You'll have plenty more chances, Agent Reid."

"Hey," Morgan said suddenly. "Can you turn the radio up, Sheriff?"

"You like Joe Walsh?" he asked as _In the City_ filled the car.

"Oh man, this song comes from one of my all-time favorite movies!"

"You like _The Warriors_?"

"Definitely, like I said, one of my favorites!"

"I've never seen it," Reid commented.

"Naturally," Morgan replied.

"It _was_ a little before his time," Sheriff Reischl added. He looked at Morgan. "Yours also, actually." Morgan chuckled in response.

Reid once again rolled down the window to try and gain a better view of the magnificent scenery he was passing. He vaguely heard Morgan and Sheriff Reischl talking in the front seat, however what they were saying wasn't registering since he was too busy looking at the landscape whizzing by at fifty-five miles per hour. He could still see Mount McKinley in the distance, but couldn't help wondering if he would ever have the chance to see it up close. Not that he had any intention of ever joining one of the expeditions to climb the mountain; however at some point in time he would love to be closer to it than he was now. Of course, he had never expected to be in Alaska in the first place, so at least he was finally here in the flesh. Reid could feel the vehicle shifting gears as the grade of the road changed and they passed over a high bridge above a creek and then began a gradual descent. Within a few miles the grade changed again as the road started to climb toward Broad Pass Summit.

"Agent Reid, what do you know about Broad Pass Summit?" Sheriff Reischl asked, interrupting Reid's musings.

"It's at 2400 feet in elevation, and is the highest point on the Parks Highway. Broad Pass is also known as Caribou Pass, and marks the divide between drainage for rivers and streams that empty into Cook Inlet, and those that empty into the Yukon River." He looked around before continuing, "I can see Mount McKinley off to the southeast now." He undid his seatbelt and slid over to the driver's side and then lowered that window as well.

"Damn it, Reid!" Morgan complained. "Do you need to have both of those windows open?"

"Agent Morgan, it's close to forty degrees. Where you live you must be used to temperatures a lot colder than this."

"I am, but not in April," Morgan grumbled. "You're not even wearing a jacket, Sheriff."

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "I don't need one. It's barely even cold. I was actually sweating earlier." The speed limit dropped to forty-five miles an hour as they approached the town of Cantwell. "Agent Reid, if you look to the north you will see the only operating limestone mine in Alaska. And we are back to sixty-five miles an hour on the other side of town."

"I so want to get out and look at all of this up close," Reid sighed.

"I get it, Reid. However, we're here for a case kid," Morgan told him.

"I know, Morgan. We have a case to help solve. I know I'm not here on vacation," Reid sighed. "I was thinking maybe I could ride the train along this route sometime in the future. A lot of these towns have airstrips don't they, Sheriff?"

"Oh yes. Cantwell has one."

"What would be the closest airstrip to Weird?"

"That would be Healy, which is basically just a few miles down the road from Weird. In fact, the Healy city limits start just south of where my jurisdiction ends. In another twenty minutes or so we'll be passing the entrance to Denali National Park."

Reid gazed out of the windows trying to see as much as he could in the fading light. Despite the fact Sheriff Reischl had told him Alaska wasn't going anywhere he still felt like he wanted to see it all now, as soon as possible. The Expedition was whizzing past beautiful scenery, cabins, campgrounds, scenic turnoffs and other roadside attractions, and he tried as hard as he could to take as much of it in as possible at sixty-five miles an hour. He had yet to see either a moose or a bear, however. Reid was so engrossed in looking out of first one side of the vehicle and then the other that he barely registered Morgan's voice calling his name. "I'm sorry, Morgan. Did you say something to me?"

"Yes kid, I did. And so did Sheriff Reischl. You ignored both of us."

"I'm sorry! What did you want to say to me?"

"The entrance to Denali National Park is coming up on the left. After that we'll be passing through Nenana River Canyon, which encompasses the commercial area outside of the Park. Once we pass through that area we'll only have about twenty miles to go."

"We should let Hotch and Rossi know."

"I already did kid; I called both of them a couple minutes ago."

"Oh, okay then." Sheriff Reischl slowed down so Reid could see the sign announcing the entrance to the Park; however without being able to explore any of the Park's six million acres, all the sign represented to Reid was something else he would have to wait to explore. He leaned his arms on the car door and peered through the window to the west as they passed through the area and approached Healy. "Did you know Healy has Alaska's only commercial coal mine?"

"Actually Agent Reid; yes, I did know that," Sheriff Reischl grinned as he pulled the Expedition into a combination service station and gift shop and up to a gas pump. "This is one of the closest gas pumps to Weird," he explained as he opened his door and climbed out. As the other two vehicles pulled up behind them he walked over and explained to Rossi and Hotch what he was doing and then turned to walk back toward Reid and Morgan who had also gotten out of the vehicle to stretch their legs.

"I'll pump the gas," Morgan offered, lifting the nozzle off the handle.

"Isn't the scenery magnificent?" Garcia gushed, as she walked up beside Morgan and Reid.

"Amazing Garcia," Morgan responded.

"Everything okay, honey?"

Reid looked at her. "I'm fine, Garcia. I'm just looking at all this beauty as we whiz by at sixty-five miles an hour on our way to look at yet another example of human depravity. I'm great!"

"Oh. Okay."

Reid made a face. "I'm sorry, Garcia. It's just, I want to be able to think about what's right about a place for a change instead of what's wrong, you know?"

"I know. I think we all get that, Reid."

"Yes, I know I know I'm not the only one who feels that way," he sighed.

Once all three vehicles once again had full gas tanks the group once again pulled back out on to the Parks Highway and continued to travel north for approximately ten miles. "Weird, Alaska ten miles to the west!" Sheriff Reischl joked as he pointed to a sign announcing the road he had referred to as the 'Weird Connection', with an arrow pointing west. He turned on his left turn signal and turned on to the road followed closely by Hotch and Rossi's SUVs. Almost as soon as he had turned on to the road a Land Rover headed in the opposite direction nearly collided with him. He stopped immediately, leaned out the window and yelled at the driver of the Land Rover. "Damn it, Colin! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm just heading for Healy, Jacob," the man identified as Colin said sheepishly.

"Try watching where you're going for crying out loud!"

"Sorry, Jacob! See you day after tomorrow!" He turned right on to the Highway and headed south at a high rate of speed.

"If you don't kill someone in the interim that is," Sheriff Reischl grumbled under his breath. He looked at Morgan and Reid. "Sorry guys." He shifted into gear and started moving again. Fifteen minutes later he pulled up in front of a colorfully painted building announcing itself as 'Weird Lodge and Tavern at the End of the No Name Road'.

Morgan chuckled when he saw the name on the building. "Someone has a sense of humor!"

"Yes, Lloyd definitely qualifies as having a sense of humor." Sheriff Reischl walked into the Inn followed by all seven BAU members carrying their bags. "Hey Lloyd," he called to a man who was poking at the fire in a huge fireplace with a poker.

"Jacob it's 10:30 pm! Where the hell have you been? You said you'd be here by 9:30, and you are an hour late! You think I have nothing else to do but wait for you to show up?"

"10:30? That's 3:30 am back in DC! No wonder I'm so tired," Prentiss groaned.

"Nice to see you also, Lloyd. I called you a couple hours ago and told you we would have two extra people for the night and that we probably would be late."

"Well, probably ain't for certain," Lloyd grumbled as he walked behind a desk fashioned from sturdy looking wooden beams. "I only have ten rooms to begin with, and since the wife has some friends staying here there's only six rooms available. I kept five for your people, but the two extra folks will have to double up in the sixth room."

"Not a problem at all," JJ told him.

Lloyd looked over all seven members of the group as Sheriff Reischl introduced them. "Hmm… None of you look like you're used to staying in a place like this," he said as he pulled out a guestbook for them to sign.

"I think it looks wonderful," Reid told him as he signed.

"Very comfortable and cozy looking," Hotch commented.

"Hm. You look kind of like my son," Lloyd commented to Hotch, who looked slightly taken aback at his words. "He lives down in Anchorage. Nothing fancy here other than you all have a double bed with a closet and a bathroom. I did put TVs in each room, but if the cable goes it's cause of the damn satellite and it's out til they come fix it. I make up the beds every day, and I serve coffee and donuts in the morning. Anything else you have to head over to the grocery or the café." He handed keys to each member of the team and then walked out from behind the desk to show them where their rooms were. "Jacob, why are you still here? Get out and go home!"

Rossi looked at Hotch and tried to suppress a grin. "We'll see you in the morning then, Sheriff." Sheriff Reischl said his good nights to the team and left the lodge as Lloyd led the seven team members to their rooms.

/\/\/\/\

**A/N: **I don't know why, but this chapter was _so_ hard to finish! I finally decided I had to finish so I could start working on the next one. Hope you like it anyway!

11


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Six

/\/\/\/\

Jacob stepped out of the front door of his house and took a deep breath. He stood on the top step of his porch stairs and looked to the east where he could see the sun was already quite high in the sky. At this time of year the sun rose at approximately six am and set at approximately 9:45 pm; and since the sun was already well on its way, it was obvious he had slept later than he intended to. "I never was a morning person," he grumbled aloud. "That is until the Army forced me to be one." He walked down the steps and over to his garage where the Expedition was parked. He only lived two miles from the lodge, which was just down the street from his office, so the trip was not very long. He parked the vehicle almost directly in front of the lodge and immediately noticed Reid was sitting on the front steps. He climbed out of the Expedition and walked around the front of it to greet him. "Good morning, Agent Reid. You're up earlier than I expected you to be."

Reid looked up at him. "Good morning, Sheriff."

Jacob sat down next to Reid and rested his elbows on his knees. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

"Definitely," Reid said, looking around him. "This town is like something out of a movie."

"What kind of a movie?"

"I don't know… It seems so rustic and like it just belongs right where it is." Reid looked over at him. "I'm not sure I'm getting what I mean across very well, Sheriff."

Jacob chuckled. "I get what you mean, Agent Reid."

"You're here earlier than I expected, Jacob." Reid and Jacob turned around to see Lloyd standing on the porch behind them.

"Morning, Lloyd. Are we in a better mood this morning than we were last night?"

"Hmph," Lloyd grumbled. "You coming in or what?" He turned and walked back inside the lodge.

Jacob laughed as he and Reid stood up. "You have to get to know Lloyd a little. Once you do you realize he has a pretty wicked sense of humor."

"The world can always use a little more humor."

"Even if it is a bit warped."

The two men walked inside the lodge. "There you are kid," Morgan said. He was sitting on a sofa in the small lobby waiting for the rest of the team to join him. "I was wondering where you had gotten to."

"I woke up early and decided to sit outside for a while taking in the scenery."

"Okay. Sheriff, Lloyd said to tell you there are some extra donuts available. He said you wouldn't care about the coffee though."

"No, Lloyd knows I don't drink coffee," Jacob said, heading for the small dining area where Lloyd had the coffee and donuts set out, along with some orange juice. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and placed two donuts on a plate before going back into the lobby and sitting down on the sofa. "Care to join me gentlemen?"

Morgan laughed as he sat in an armchair. "You don't drink coffee?"

Jacob shook his head as Reid sat down on the sofa with a mug of coffee. "I never got used to the taste of coffee. I think the aroma is wonderful, but I'd just as soon drink a glass of Coke instead. In college I used to…" He stopped talking as he watched Reid drop five spoonful of sugar into his mug.

Reid became aware of someone watching him and looked up. "What?" he asked, looking from Morgan to Jacob and then back at Morgan.

"You're the only person I've ever seen put that much sugar in their coffee."

"I…well, I like sugar."

"How can you even taste the coffee?"

"I can taste the coffee," Reid protested.

"If you say so," Jacob shrugged. "As I was saying, in college I used to get a two liter bottle of Coke when I was studying late and drink it instead of coffee." He looked up as Penelope Garcia and JJ walked into the room. "Good morning, Agent Jareau, Miss Garcia."

"Hey, JJ, Baby Girl, have a good sleep?"

"It's so quiet," JJ smiled. "I'm just not used to it."

"Me either," Garcia added.

Jacob laughed. "When I first moved here all the quiet drove me nuts. I am originally from Los Angeles after all."

"Trust me, parts of the D.C. area are much louder than most of L.A.," Morgan said.

Prentiss walked up to them and handed JJ some coffee before sitting down and placing a plate of donuts on the table for the three women to share. "So what are we talking about?" she asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"How quiet it is around here," Reid commented.

"Don't worry, you didn't miss much," Morgan joked.

"Well, okay then," Prentiss said before biting into a donut.

"Looks like everyone is here," Rossi joked as he came down the stairs with Hotch right behind him.

"I was the first one up," Reid commented. "I wanted to experience an Alaskan sunrise while I had the chance; however I could not see well enough."

"What time did you wake up?" Hotch asked, as he accepted a cup of coffee Rossi had poured for him.

"5:30 a.m."

"In a few weeks it will be more like 3 a.m., and it will be light until after midnight. You'd be cursing the sunlight," Jacob laughed.

"Not as much as I would curse twenty-two hours of darkness a day," Reid answered.

"Don't be so sure about that, Agent Reid." He looked around at the group. "Is everyone okay with Lloyd's donuts, or should we go over to Carla's Café and have some breakfast?"

"It's after 9 a.m.," Rossi said. "I think the donuts will hold us for two or three hours, don't you?"

"I'll live," Morgan commented.

"Okay, after lunch JJ and Garcia will head to Fairbanks. As soon as we're ready here, Sheriff, why don't you show us your office and around town a little? After lunch we'd like to see where the victims were found," Hotch said.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rossi said.

"My office is across the street and down a few yards," Jacob said as he stood up. "Carla's is directly across the street from the lodge."

"Everyone all set?" Rossi asked a few minutes later after the cups and plates had been disposed of and the group had donned their jackets.

"I've been ready for hours," Reid commented.

"Naturally," Morgan added.

"Sheriff," Reid said, walking next to him as the group went out the door and down the steps. "What is twenty-two hours of darkness like?"

"Don't you mean twenty-four hours, honey?" Garcia asked.

"Actually Garcia, that's a common misconception. Barrow has a two-month period during the winter when the sun doesn't rise. However, that's the extreme; and the length of the night gets shorter the further south you go. South of the Arctic Circle every location has sunlight at least part of the day."

"Is there sunlight for twenty-four hours a day in the summer?" JJ asked.

"In the summer, all of Alaska above the Arctic Circle gets at least one day of twenty-four hour sunlight at the time of the solstice. Barrow has continuous sunlight for eighty five days. South of the Arctic Circle every location has night time every day; some places very briefly, as in half an hour or so."

"You are correct, Agent Reid. We will get approximately twenty-two hours of darkness in the winter and twenty-two hours of sunlight in the summer. The other two hours is like dusk, the time just before the dark when the sun is setting."

"So, as far as Barrow it really is like in that movie?" Prentiss asked.

"What movie?"

"_Thirty Days of Night_ kid," Morgan answered.

"I never heard of it," Reid said.

"Of course you haven't," Prentiss said.

"What do you mean by that?" Reid asked.

Jacob looked at Prentiss and then at Reid. "It's another movie that takes place in Alaska, Agent Reid. It's set up in Barrow."

"Oh. Barrow is the northernmost community in the United States, and is the economic, transportation, and administrative center for the North Slope Borough. Approximately sixty-one percent of the city's residents are Inupiat Eskimo. The airport, which is served by passenger jets from both Fairbanks and Anchorage, is named the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Airport. The naming was done to commemorate Post and Rogers, who died in a plane crash fifteen miles south of Barrow in 1935."

"Uh, Reid…" Rossi began.

"I know, shut up Reid." He sighed as the group walked up the steps underneath a sign declaring the building to be the Sheriff's Office. "I uh, guess I can talk about Barrow more some other time," he added quietly.

"Preferably when I'm not around," Prentiss mumbled. Reid looked up sharply at her words. He stood aside as Jacob held the door open and JJ, Garcia and Prentiss walked through first, followed by Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, Reid and then Jacob.

"This is it," Jacob said. "I'm sure your offices back at Quantico are a bit fancier, but this works for us." He pointed at a man in his late twenties with straight dark hair who had risen from behind a desk at their entrance. "This is Wade Talbot, my deputy. Wade, this is SSA Jennifer Jareau, SSA Emily Prentiss, Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia, SSA Derek Morgan, SSA David Rossi, SSA Aaron Hotchner, and SSA Spencer Reid."

"Nice to meet all of you. We're really glad you're here."

"We're here to do everything we can to help, Deputy Talbot," Hotch told him. The Deputy nodded.

"There's not much to see, really. We have Wade's desk, and over here through this door I have my broom closet office and my desk. Behind this door, in an old storage room, we have a makeshift library I set up. Through this doorway over here is the room you can work out of. There are a couple of tables, a refrigerator and a coffee maker."

"This will be fine," Rossi commented. "It looks very cozy."

"You have Internet on your computers, correct?" Morgan asked.

Jacob nodded. "Through the satellite bundle. It's not one hundred percent reliable, however. If there's a problem with the dish, not only does our Internet service go down, but so does the cable. Same problem at my house."

"Mine also," Deputy Talbot added.

The group headed out of the office and down the street with Jacob pointing out locations of interest, such as the combination Grocery/General Store/Post Office, and a small craft store. "Del's a real artist," Talbot commented when Jacob pointed out a small shop that advertised hand-made picture frames and furniture were sold there. "He made a beautiful cabinet for my wife's antique china."

"I feel stupid asking this question; but do your children attend school here in town, or do they bus somewhere?" JJ asked.

Jacob laughed. "That's not a stupid question, Agent Jareau. We have a small school here. It looks like your stereotypical one room school house from the outside; however it's actually pretty modern. We don't have that many students, but a while back we all got together and purchased some new computers for them. The high school age students take online courses from the University of Alaska Fairbanks as part of their curriculum. That's another reason we get so irritated with interruptions to our satellite service out here; the kids need it."

"Who do you call if you have a fire?" Morgan asked.

"We call the Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department," Talbot answered. "I'm a member myself."

"Anything else we can't handle or we need help with we call the State Police," Jacob added. "Or the F.B.I." His comment drew a smile from Rossi.

"What about your medical needs?" Reid asked.

"We have a clinic down the end of the street there. There's a full-time nurse, but we share a doctor with the clinic down in Healy."

Jacob and Talbot pointed out the Clinic's building and the school, which was surrounded by a chain link fence with a gate facing to the west. Several children played happily on playground equipment and swings while being carefully watched by two adults. "The blond woman pushing the little girl on the swings is my wife Dina," Talbot pointed out with a smile. The children spotted the group and came running over to the fence. They called out to Jacob and Talbot, who walked over to them smiling and introduced their companions as F.B.I. agents. The children seemed to find the presence of the BAU agents to be 'cool'. They stood for several minutes talking to Talbot's wife and the children before waving good-bye and walking away from the school smiling. The children stood near the fence and enthusiastically waved at them.

Reid turned around and made a 'shh' motion to the children. He walked back over to them and asked, "Who likes magic?" Every child raised his or her hand. "I see! Let me see what I can come up with. Hmm…" He pretended to be lost in thought for a minute. "Mrs. Talbot, do you have a dollar bill?"

"Of course," Dina said, reaching into the pocket of her jeans and pulling out a couple of bills. She handed one of them to Reid.

Reid made a production out of folding the dollar bill several times down to the size of a small square; and then he reached over the fence and placed it behind the right ear of one of the female students. She giggled and looked at him wide-eyed. "Maybe we should give Mrs. Talbot back her money," he said.

The little girl reached behind her ear. "It's gone!"

"Hmm… Maybe you should check your pocket?" The little girl stuck her hand in her right pocket and pulled a handful of quarters. She looked at Reid with her mouth open. "How about that?" he said. "You have twelve quarters there; two each for you and your friends." The little girl dutifully kept two quarters for herself and handed two to each of the other children. "Too bad about Mrs. Talbot's dollar bill… I wonder what happened to it?"

"I don't know," the little girl giggled.

"Maybe you could tell her to check behind _her_ ear to see if it's there?"

The six students all began talking at once, trying to tell the Deputy's wife to check behind her ear. She reached behind her left ear and pulled the folded bill out to show the children. "Should I unfold it, kids?" The six children chorused 'yes' in unison; and, laughing she unfolded the dollar bill to find a small earring inside. She looked at it and then felt her left ear. Her earring was indeed missing, and somehow had managed to become folded up inside the bill. She looked over at Reid who simply smiled, said good-bye to the kids and waved before turning around and walking toward the rest of the group.

"Agent Reid does magic?" Jacob asked.

"One of my wonderful Junior G-Man's many hidden talents," Garcia smiled, looking at Reid as he walked toward them.

/\/\/\/\

**A/N:** From now on I'm going to refer to Sheriff Reischl as 'Jacob', though some characters will still be calling him 'Sheriff'. It's just easier to handle that way.

9


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Seven

/\/\/\/\

"What exactly did you do back there Spence?" JJ asked.

"A magic trick."

"I know, but what kind of a magic trick?"

"Come on, JJ. You know a magician never reveals his secrets!"

"I think we should head to the café for lunch now, and then get started with the crime scenes when we're done," Hotch remarked.

"Sounds good. This way," Jacob pointed back the way they had come.

"I noticed the cell phone service seems to be reliable," Prentiss commented.

Jacob nodded. "That's because we have our own cell phone tower. You wouldn't believe all the hoops I had to jump through to get that. If we didn't have it our service would be a lot spottier." Once they arrived at Carla's Café Jacob once again held the door open for the rest of the group to enter ahead of him.

Once they had walked inside Jacob was immediately greeted by a blond woman in her fifties he identified as Carla. He introduced the team to her, and she settled them down at a large table and then handed them menus. "Edith alert," Talbot said, looking at a point behind Jacob's head.

"Edith alert? What does that mean?" Reid asked.

Jacob sighed and then stood up and turned around. "What can I do for you, Edith?" he asked the gray-haired woman who had walked up behind him.

"She's doing it again," Edith said. The BAU team members looked at each other in confusion.

"Edith, we go through this at least three times per week. Don't you think you and your sister are a little old to behave so childishly?"

"He says that every time and it doesn't help a whole lot. A couple days later the same thing always happens again," Talbot said.

"I'm not the one behaving childishly, _she_ is!"

"You're childish, _not_ me," a second woman said, walking up beside Edith.

"Edith's sister Louisa," Talbot commented.

Carla walked up to the table carrying a pitcher of water and a tray with nine glasses sitting on it. She sighed as she set the pitcher and glasses down, poured water into each glass and then placed one in front of each person sitting at the table. "One of these days I'm going to ban the both of them and I won't have to deal with the idiocy of two old ladies acting worse than children three or four times a week in my place," she commented.

"You both say the same thing every time," Jacob was saying. "Don't the two of you _ever_ get tired of saying the same thing over and over?"

"She started it!"

"No, I didn't, you did!"

Jacob folded his arms and sighed again. "Ladies, kindergarten students have more intelligent conversations than this one."

"That's disrespectful, Jacob! You should respect your elders," Louisa told him.

"Usual Jacob?" Carla interrupted.

"Yes, please Carla," he said without turning around. Carla added his order to the one she had just taken for the rest of the table and indicated she would be right back with their drinks.

"Normally I would respect my elders. However, considering the fact you two give me a headache every time I see you, maintaining that respect can be a little difficult."

"Yes, and it's all Louisa's fault."

"Same conversation they have every time almost word for word," Carla said, shaking her head as she arrived back at the table with their soft drinks and iced tea.

"Yep," Talbot added.

"Interesting," Rossi commented.

"Interesting?" Garcia asked, turning to look at him. Rossi shrugged.

"…and that's my final word!" Jacob was saying. "Now both of you go home!"

Edith patted him on the cheek. "Jacob, if I were twenty years younger…"

"If you were twenty years younger you'd _still_ be fifteen years too old!" Louisa said, stomping off as Jacob shook his head, rolled his eyes and gazed up at the ceiling.

"Hmph…" Edith said, following her sister out the door.

Rossi fought back a grin as Jacob returned to the table. "Found that amusing did you, Agent Rossi?"

"Hell yeah," he said.

Jacob shook his head. "You just saw two good reasons for this town to be named Weird," he commented.

The first thing the group did was exchange cell numbers so that everyone on the team had Jacob and Talbot's cell numbers; and Jacob and Talbot had all of theirs. They then discussed plans for the rest of the day while they waited for their lunch orders to arrive. Once they were finished, JJ and Garcia would collect their bags from the hotel and drive one of the Bureau SUVs to Fairbanks. The rest of the group would set up their work room with large scale maps that showed the town and the surrounding area in great detail; on which they could easily mark the highway and the locations where the victims were found; as well as try to work on a geographic profile. Reid knew the geographic profile would fall to him, it always did. He didn't have much to work with yet for a geographic profile in this case; however he would still precisely locate everything on the map and draw connections to better understand what relationship each location had to the others.

Once their meal had been brought the team put the shop talk aside for a few minutes to eat. "Can someone please tell me about this movie you were talking about earlier?" Reid asked.

"_Thirty Days of Night_?"

"Yes."

"Agent Reid, the movie is set in Barrow during the darkest and coldest part of winter. A group of vampires invades the town knowing they have the cover of darkness for all this time to prey on the townspeople. Once they realize what's happening the surviving townspeople try to hold out long enough for the sun to come up again or until they can kill the vampires."

"Is it true to the vampire legends?"

"Some of it is some of it isn't."

"If the vampires knew they had at least thirty days of darkness, why did they wait so long to show up? I mean, Barrow has been where it is for some time."

"They explain that in the movie by having the leader say they should have gone there sooner," Talbot answered.

"And they can't leave any survivors because then people would know that vampires really do exist," Garcia added.

"I have an old army buddy who is from Barrow and he hates that movie," Jacob laughed.

"Why?" Morgan asked.

"Because it took place in Barrow the town officials receive phone calls almost every day from people trying to make sure the vampires are all really dead before they come there or let a family member come there. Some people seem to think the entire state is overrun by vampires who come up here during the winter to prey on our residents. Larry says it's a pain in the ass to answer all the inane questions he gets about vampires when people find out he's from Barrow. And he doesn't even live there any longer."

/\

"It's an easy drive, Agent Jareau," Jacob said as he and Hotch stood next to the SUV soon after the group had finished lunch. "Just head east on the Weird Connection, turn north on the Parks Highway and in a little over a hundred miles you're there. I marked the route in your map book; including the streets to take to reach the hotel and the police station once you arrive in Fairbanks, but I honestly don't think you'll have any problems."

"Let us know when you get there, and if you have any problems once you arrive in Fairbanks. I am aware you know what to do and are more than capable of doing it; however call me or Rossi right away if you run into any problems. Also Garcia, please let us know when you are set up."

"No problem," JJ smiled. She waved at Reid who was standing a few yards away. Reid waved back at JJ and Garcia, as JJ shifted the SUV into gear and headed out toward the highway.

/\

Half an hour after JJ and Garcia had driven away Jacob and the five remaining team members stood at the location where the third victim had been found, just outside the city limits north of the connecting road. Rossi looked off to the south. "From here I can't see the road, so anyone passing by on the road can't see me either."

"Right," Morgan added. "However, this forest is too thick here for me to have driven my vehicle back this far; which means I probably would have had to leave it parked on the shoulder of the road."

"Which means it may have been spotted," Prentiss added.

"If it was no one reported it," Jacob offered.

"Whether anyone reported it or not, I was still taking the risk of someone seeing it and stopping to ask if I needed any help, or of someone remembering later they saw me, or at least my vehicle," Reid offered.

"Exactly," Hotch said. "I have to tell you Sheriff, in looking at this site; you and Deputy Talbot did an excellent job of collecting evidence from the scene."

"Thank you, Agent Hotchner."

"It's Hotch."

Jacob smiled. "Thank you, Hotch. Unfortunately there wasn't all that much evidence to collect. We did do a grid search looking for anything at all we could find."

"We picked up a lot of stuff we thought could be evidence, but turned out not to be," Talbot added.

"Better to bag it and decide later it isn't evidence than not to bag it and realize later it _was_ evidence," Rossi commented.

Reid listened to what the others were saying, but then decided to walk a few yards to the northeast. He half expected one of the others to tell him not to get lost or not to wander off; it would be par for the course with the way things had been going lately. However if anyone even noticed right away he was no longer standing next to them, they hadn't called out to him yet. He pushed aside a few branches and managed to put his foot down in a small pile of animal feces of some sort. "Naturally," he said aloud as he lifted his right foot up to look at the bottom of his hiking boot. He shrugged and scraped the bottom of the boot off on a nearby rock and then continued on his way, hiking slowly in a northeastern direction. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for, or why he thought he was looking for something, but somehow he felt like he needed to look.

Back at the dump site Morgan looked around him. "Where's Reid?"

All six of them looked around but failed to see Reid anywhere within their sight. "What the _hell_?" Hotch said, irritated.

They all turned to look at Jacob when they heard the sound of Springsteen singing _Backstreets_. He looked at his caller I.D. "It's Agent Reid," he said, flipping the phone open.

"Probably lost," Prentiss joked.

Morgan glared at Prentiss who had the sense to keep quiet. He turned to look at Jacob. "What's wrong, Sheriff?"

"Agent Reid walked off to the north east. He said he's probably a quarter mile away from us right now." He rubbed his left temple and sighed. "He just found another body."

/\/\/\/\

This summer (2010), solstice occurs at 3:28 a.m. Alaska Daylight Time on June 21. The winter solstice occurs at 2:38 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on Dec. 21.

7


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Eight

/\/\/\/\

"He found another body?" Hotch asked.

"Yes," Jacob replied. He pointed in the direction Reid had walked. They all headed in that direction. "Agent Reid?"

"This way," they heard him call from a few yards ahead of them. The group followed the sound of Reid's voice until they spotted him standing in a small clearing. A couple feet away from him lay the body of a young female. Reid already had gloves on and had pulled a roll of yellow crime scene tape out of his bag.

"You carry crime scene tape around with you, Agent Reid?"

"Yes," Reid said simply.

Jacob crouched down next to the victim's body and pulled the collar of her shirt down slightly. He shook his head. "Bruising around the neck is a definite sign of strangulation. I don't know her from town," he said. "Wade, call the state police. We need the coroner out here also."

"Sure thing, Jacob." The deputy walked a few yards away to make the call.

"This is really starting to piss me off," Jacob said. "Number one, because these girls are dead in the first place; and number two because he's leaving them in my town." He sighed and stood up. "I'll need to go to Fairbanks with the coroner for the autopsy again."

Hotch spoke. "If you don't mind Morgan will go along with you to the autopsy."

Jacob nodded. "Of course. It will take them a couple hours to get out here form Fairbanks though; so we will need to do what we can now to preserve the location."

"Now that we have this fourth location we likely won't get to the other two until tomorrow," Rossi said. He turned to Jacob. "How many hours of daylight do we have?"

Jacob looked at his watch. "It's going on 3:30 p.m.; so approximately six hours until dark."

"Sheriff," Morgan, who was crouched next to the body, called. "Take a look at this."

Once again Jacob crouched next to the body. He looked at a spot slightly under the body where Morgan pointed. "It looks like a class ring."

"You didn't find any jewelry on the bodies according to your reports," Reid said.

"We didn't," Wade said, as he walked up behind Reid. "We didn't find any jewelry on any of the victims." He handed a case the size of a tackle box to Jacob.

"Thank you, Wade." He opened the case and pulled out a pair of disposable gloves which he quickly pulled on. "What did the State Police say?"

"Coroner will be on his way within a few minutes."

Jacob nodded. He pulled a small envelope out of the case and wrote the time, date and type of evidence on it. He reached for the ring and held it up to look for an engraving. "There's no engraving," he sighed. "However I do see the name of a school on the side. Eagle Mountain, Class of 2003."

"May I see it?" Reid asked. Jacob handed him the ring. "Aquamarine birthstone," he commented.

"Sheriff, are you aware of a school by the name of Eagle Mountain?"

"No, Agent Hotchner. However, that certainly does not mean there isn't one. It could be in Anchorage, Fairbanks, some other town in Alaska or anyplace outside of Alaska for that matter."

Reid handed the ring back to Jacob who dropped it into the envelope and sealed it. "It's definitely a woman's ring. If it belongs to the victim it might help to identify her."

Morgan stood up. "There's no identification anywhere on her body, so unless there's a DNA match or a match to a missing person's report the ring may be all we have."

"I'll call JJ and tell her what's going on at this point," Rossi said. "I'll also ask Garcia to do a search for Eagle Mountain High School or Eagle Mountain College anywhere in the US or Canada." He looked at the victim. "If it's her ring, given the year 2003 I'd say it's a high school ring."

"My guess is she is mid-twenties. She's full dressed, and there is a gunshot wound to the left side of the chest in addition to the signs of strangulation. There is no corresponding damage to her clothing; therefore she must have been redressed after being shot instead of before," Reid said.

"Was she killed here?" Prentiss asked.

"Hard to say. There's no visible blood in the area, so I just don't know."

"Sheriff, how does this scene look to you compared to the other three? Does it seem staged the same way?" Morgan asked.

"Almost exactly the same. And like the others there's been little animal activity around the body; therefore she couldn't have been here long."

"Garcia and JJ just arrived in Fairbanks. As soon as she is set up Garcia is going to do the search for Eagle Mountain," Rossi said as he walked up beside Hotch. "Sheriff, is it possible the UnSub could have known we were coming?"

"That's a good question, Sheriff. Who else knew we were coming ahead of time?" Hotch asked.

"You mean aside from everyone in town?"

"And the State Police," Talbot added.

"And the F.B.I. Field Office in Anchorage," Reid added.

"If the UnSub knew we were coming and wanted the body to be discovered, that would explain the timing of the fourth victim. But what about the other three?" Morgan asked.

"Sheriff," Rossi said. "You actually found the first three victims yourself?"

"Yes, I did."

"That tells me the UnSub knew there was a reason for you to be out in the woods at those particular times."

"He wanted you specifically to find the victims," Reid said.

"The question is why? And I have no idea why," Jacob said.

"What in particular were you doing those days that caused you to be in the woods?" Morgan asked.

"You were checking on reports of poaching in the woods," Wade said.

"I was looking for illegal traps," Jacob added.

"Every time?" Hotch asked.

"All three times." Jacob stared at Hotch. "So what are we saying here? This has something to do with me personally?"

"Either that or they just wanted you to find the bodies," Rossi said.

"How did you receive the poaching reports?" Prentiss asked.

"Anonymous tips called into the office," Wade said. "All three times."

"Have you had problems with poaching before?" Reid asked.

"Yes. That's why I had to take the tips seriously."

"I think it's obvious it wasn't because the UnSub didn't think you couldn't handle the investigation. Even if that had been the reason the first time; after seeing how well you and Deputy Talbot handled the first victim it certainly wouldn't explain the second and third victim," Hotch said.

"And now with this fourth victim being left just yards from one of the locations anyone could have figured we would all be visiting…" Rossi began.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all," Jacob said. "It's also less than a month between victims this time. The first three victims were all killed three months apart."

"Sheriff…it doesn't mean these girls are being killed because of you. It could simply mean the UnSub either thinks you can solve the case or wants you to solve the case," Reid said.

"So he wants to be caught?" Jacob asked.

"Not necessarily. Some UnSubs want to be caught, others simply like to challenge law enforcement to catch them," Morgan said.

"Why me? Why challenge me?"

"Maybe the UnSub met you at some point. Maybe he stopped in town in the past; there could be a number of reasons," Rossi told him.

"Have you gotten any media attention since you've been Sheriff?" Reid asked.

"For what?" Jacob asked.

"For any reason."

"Agent Reid, look around you! It may be beautiful country, but it's also out in the middle of nowhere. The only thing I'm getting any attention for is finding bodies in my jurisdiction."

/\

Ninety minutes later the coroner's van pulled up behind the Expedition and the Bureau SUV parked on the side of the Weird Connection. Talbot met the coroner and his assistant and led them into the forest where the victim's body was located.

"Sheriff Reischl, we really need to stop meeting like this," the coroner commented. He looked around at the BAU team members combing through the nearby woods looking for evidence. "You actually were able to bring the F.B.I. in on this."

"I said I would do whatever I had to do, Damian."

"You did indeed."

Jacob introduced the coroner to the team as Damian Londen and his assistant as Erika Sparks. Within half an hour Londen and Sparks had bagged the victim and she was being carried to their van. "Will you be following us Sheriff?" Sparks asked.

"I just need to tie up a few loose ends here and then I'll meet you there as soon as possible."

"We'll get started as soon as we get back," Londen said. "Going to be another late night. Thanks a lot, Sheriff!"

"Humph…" Jacob grumbled as Londen and Sparks departed.

"I'm guessing the State Police are leaving the investigation to you and Talbot," Morgan commented.

"Technically I have to ask them to help as long as it's within my jurisdiction. Since you're here we might as well handle it between us." He sighed and looked over at the spot where the victim had laid just moments before. "Do you think maybe our UnSub left that ring on purpose, or could he have just missed it?"

"It's too early to tell Sheriff," Rossi told him. "He might not have seen it under the victim's body when he left her here."

Jacob shook his head. "Agent Morgan, are you ready? I think we should head for Fairbanks." He turned and walked toward the Expedition.

"I'll be right with you, Sheriff." Morgan turned toward Hotch and Rossi. "What do you think of all this? What could the connection be between Sheriff Reischl and the UnSub?"

"I'm going to have Garcia dig a little further into his background and see if she can turn up anything in his military record or personal history that might be helpful," Hotch said.

"Sounds good," Morgan answered. "I'll let you know what's going on when we get to Fairbanks." Hotch nodded and watched Morgan walk over to join Sheriff Reischl.

"Well," Rossi commented as they turned back toward Reid, Prentiss and Talbot. "At least we know neither the Sheriff nor the Deputy is the UnSub."

"That's not funny, Dave."

"It may not be funny, but it's the truth." 

/\/\/\/\

7


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Nine

/\/\/\/\

"What have you found, Garcia?" Hotch asked. "You're on speaker, by the way."

"So far I have found three high schools by the name of Eagle Mountain in the United States, one of which closed as of 1983. I have also located one Eagle Mountain College Preparatory Academy; however so far no colleges by that name."

"What states are we talking about?" Rossi asked.

"The school that closed was in California. The two other schools I've found so far are in Colorado outside of Boulder, and Wyoming in the Cheyenne area. Eagle Mountain College Prep is in Utah."

"Have you found anything further on Sheriff Reischl?" Hotch asked.

"I can tell you Deputy Talbot is squeaky clean. Two days a week he drives a tow truck out of a garage located in Healy; and his wife is a teacher at the local school in Weird."

"We met Mrs. Talbot this morning at the school," Rossi commented.

"Sheriff Reischl himself is pretty close to squeaky clean also. Within the United States the worse thing he's ever done is acquire a couple of speeding tickets years ago. He has a friend who owns a ranch in Northern Arizona where he occasionally visits; the friend is also clean. His son David also has a clean record, and joined the military three years ago. As we know David is currently stationed in Iraq. I'm trying to access the Sheriff's military records now…"

"Trying?" Prentiss asked.

"Be patient. I am simultaneously all up in Sheriff Reischl's life as far as his phone records and credit cards. Even the Oracle can't do everything at once."

Rossi chuckled. "What do his credit card records tell us?"

"Other than he must be very popular with the folks at Amazon. com, BarnesandNoble. com and BestBuy. com, they tell us he has no unusual or oddball spending habits. He has a higher credit score than I do, and considering his military pension added to his salary, I would say he lives within his means. Phone records indicate he accepts collect calls from his son a couple times a month, and apparently he knows someone in Ester, which is about twelve miles outside of Fairbanks, because he calls the same number there at least twice a week." Garcia stopped and took a breath before continuing. "As far as the Army, he holds marksmanship medals for both distance and accuracy, he had arctic, desert, jungle and airborne training; and he was stationed overseas in Germany for three years, in Japan for two, Australia for two, South Korea for five years, and the rest of the time at Fort Drum, New York or Southern California close to home. There are no reports of him having any legal problems or complaints at any of his posts. He appears to have been an exemplary soldier from what I can tell."

"Do you have any information on his ex-wife?" Hotch asked.

"Uh, let's see here… Yes, Dina Covington Reischl Warring is her name. Apparently they met while he was in Japan on leave from his tour in Korea and she was involved with some kind of college exchange program. Divorced after David was born, divorce was not contested; he was given full custody of David. She is now remarried with three other children. Based on what I can find about husband number two she traded military wife for high society wife. Obviously her eyes don't work very well…"

"Garcia…"

"Seriously Emily! You should see this guy Warring…"

"Garcia!" Hotch said sternly.

"Right, sir. Sorry! His parents are both still living in Reseda, California. He left the army in 2000 as we already know and took the job as Sheriff of Weird. Looks like his parents do have a little bit of money, and own a couple pieces of property in Los Angeles County. However, in general the Reischl family looks to be a normal, middle-class American family."

"Nothing screams out a reason why someone would be targeting him with these victims. Thank you, Garcia. Let us know if you find anything else on Sheriff Reischl, and let us know when you're finished with searching for the schools. Tomorrow we can start trying to match the victim's description to former students," Hotch said.

Rossi looked over to where Talbot and Reid were combing through bushes looking for evidence. "Deputy Talbot," he called. Talbot turned and headed in his direction. Rossi walked toward him followed by Hotch and Prentiss. "I know the Sheriff said before he and Agent Morgan left he didn't get any publicity out here. But can you think of anything; a case, an incident, even a seemingly insignificant argument that sticks in your mind that might give us an idea of who or what we might be dealing with here?"

Talbot looked thoughtful and then shook his head. "I don't know, Agent Rossi. Maybe once I've had a little more time to think about it I might come up with something. But I just…nothing stands out for me. I'm sorry."

Rossi patted his shoulder. "It's okay. If you think of something, please let us know."

Talbot nodded. "Uh, I was just telling Agent Reid tomorrow is one of my days driving the tow truck. If Jacob isn't back I won't be around to take you to the other locations."

"That's okay. If you can provide us with directions we should be fine," Hotch told him.

"Uh Deputy, someone in town was saying something about Ester. What do you know about it?" Prentiss asked.

Talbot shrugged. "Well, Ester is one of those towns in Alaska that's managed to attract a lot of local artist types. There's even a small local publishing company in town, and a decent newspaper. It used to be a mining town." He laughed. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but it's not like everyone in town doesn't already know; Jacob has a girlfriend in Ester he sees whenever he can. I know he talks to her at least twice a week on the phone." Hotch and Rossi looked at each other realizing there was no longer any mystery about the twice weekly phone calls.

"Do you know Sheriff Reischl's son?" Reid asked Talbot, as he pulled off his gloves.

"David? Sure, I know him. He's about five years younger than I am. When he and Jacob first moved here David was around twelve and not thrilled to have moved to the middle of nowhere. He spent most of the first six weeks or so he was here sulking. But that gradually started to change and he ended up liking it." Talbot looked at the surroundings. "A little resentment was understandable, I guess. The isolation and small town life isn't for everyone."

"I think we're just about done here Hotch," Reid said.

"We might as well head back into town then unless you'd like to look at the other two locations. They aren't that far."

Hotch looked at his watch. "We still have about three hours of daylight left. If you don't mind showing us, Deputy, we would appreciate it."

"Of course not. Let me just call my wife quick." Talbot opened his cell phone and walked toward the road with the others following.

"He's quite competent," Reid commented.

"I noticed that," Hotch replied. "They both are. It's entirely possible if this is connected to something in Sheriff Reischl's past it isn't part of any official record. We all know it doesn't take much to trigger some UnSubs."

"Did you and Talbot come across anything while we were talking to Garcia?" Rossi asked Reid.

Reid shook his head. "There wasn't really anything to find. If the victim was shot at this location the UnSub either cleaned up really well or planned ahead."

"Planned ahead? In what way?" Prentiss asked.

"If you don't wish to leave a mess and you know you're going to make one, you can bring a tarp, a blanket… Of course you then run an additional risk of leaving fibers as evidence."

"Okay, my wife is holding dinner. I can show you the other locations now," Talbot said as he walked back to them.

/\

"This is where the second victim was found?" Reid asked a few minutes later. Talbot nodded.

"If you stand where I am right now you can see the Parks Highway," Rossi said. He walked a few yards to his left and stopped. "But if I stand here, you can't."

"Reid, can you walk down to the highway and look back to see if you are able to spot Rossi where he's standing?"

"Give me a couple minutes." As Reid started to walk away Hotch noticed he was limping slightly. He opened his mouth with the intention of suggesting someone else could walk down instead but then he caught Rossi shaking his head slightly and changed his mind.

"I think he needs to feel a little more useful," Rossi said quietly. Hotch nodded "Deputy Talbot, if you wouldn't mind standing where I am right now?" Talbot moved over and stood in Rossi's spot while Rossi went back to the spot he'd been able to see the highway from.

Hotch flipped open his cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Reid. "Reid, are you ready? Can you see Deputy Talbot...? How about Rossi... Okay, thanks." He turned to the others. "He can't see you Talbot, but he can see you Dave."

"He sure was taking a risk so close to the highway," Talbot commented.

"Which, as far as I'm concerned, makes it even more obvious the UnSub wanted the bodies to be found in Sheriff Reischl's jurisdiction," Prentiss said.

"But still…why take such a risk of being discovered?" Talbot asked.

"If it was dark the UnSub might have thought the risk was worth it," Prentiss answered.

Reid rejoined the group and they combed the area around where the second victim had been found for about an hour before walking back down to the highway. "Based on the reports the first victim was found that way?" Reid asked Talbot, pointing to the northeast.

Talbot nodded. "Right. Off the northeast corner of the junction of the highway with the road."

"Let's walk over there and take a look," Hotch said.

/\

An hour later the SUV stopped in front of a modest house with a fenced in front yard. After they had left the last location Morgan had called and told them the preliminary autopsy was finished and that he and Jacob would not be returning until the next morning. They would be spending the night at the same hotel where JJ and Garcia were staying, and would meet with the medical examiner again in the morning before they returned.

Deputy Talbot opened the door of the SUV and climbed out. "Thank you for all your help today Deputy Talbot," Hotch said.

"I just hope I can think of something else that will help, Agent Hotchner."

"Please, call me Hotch."

"Of course Hotch," Talbot smiled.

"If you don't mind me giving you something else to think about," Reid began. "It occurred to me the UnSub might be trying to ensure Sheriff Reischl receives credit for solving this case if it is solved because he feels he was denied it for something that happened in the past."

"And he's trying to give him a chance to catch him and receive credit for solving a serial killer case?" Talbot asked.

"Something like that," Reid replied.

"I'll see if I can think of anything."

A few minutes later the group pulled up in front of the hotel. "I for one am starving," Rossi said as soon as they got out of the SUV. "I'm going right over to Carla's for something to eat."

"Right behind you," Reid said.

/\/\/\/\

**A/N: **I know, a lot of talk and not much action… Sorry!

7


	10. Chapter 10Finally Getting Someplace

**Sorry for the length of time between updates! I'll try to do better with the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Nine

/\/\/\/\

Jacob pulled the Expedition into town and stopped in front of the lodge. Morgan opened the passenger side door and hopped out. "So I'll see you at the Café in about an hour then?"

Jacob nodded. "I'll be there. I can use the sustenance."

Morgan nodded and started to turn away. He turned back and said, "Sheriff, you really need to stop blaming yourself. One of our theories is the UnSub may be targeting you with the locations of the dump sites. That doesn't mean it's true, and it certainly doesn't mean you have anything to feel guilty about."

Jacob sighed. "Agent Morgan, I'm sure Agent Reid could tell you a theory is actually the highest form of scientific truth. I'll see you in an hour at Carla's for breakfast." He backed the Expedition up, turned around and drove off. Morgan watched him drive off and then he walked into the lodge.

Nearly an hour later Jacob walked into his office and was surprised to see Reid already there. He was sitting in a chair looking at large map of the area mounted on a wall. "Good morning Sheriff," Reid said as he watched Jacob press a button on his office phone to check for messages. "I hope you don't mind Deputy Talbot giving me a key to the office."

"Good morning Agent Reid. Of course I don't mind." Jacob walked over to the map. "Is this your geographic profile?"

"Humph! Normally it would be; however I don't have a whole lot to work with here. All four victims were found within a relatively small area; and all the locations have the same distinguishing features. The only difference is what side of the road they were found on."

"Tiny little area on this huge map," Jacob commented.

"Sheriff, I did come up with a new idea yesterday. I asked Talbot if he knew of any incidents that might have caused the UnSub to think you were denied credit for something he felt you deserved it for."

"And you're wondering if he's trying to help me receive credit for catching him?"

"Well…yes." At Jacob's sigh Reid continued. "That still doesn't make you responsible Sheriff. UnSubs do a lot of strange things. He still would be committing the crimes even if you were not involved. Your only connection is where he is leaving the bodies."

Jacob shook his head. "Logically I know that." He mentally shook himself. "Are you hungry Agent Reid? I'm meeting Agent Morgan at Carla's in a couple minutes."

"I could eat something," Reid said, standing up. The two men left the office and walked over to Carla's Café. As they walked through the door they saw Morgan, Prentiss, and Rossi and Hotch all sitting at a table waiting for them.

"There you are kid. I was about to call you," Morgan told Reid. "I have a copy of the preliminary autopsy report for you."

"I was trying to come up with something for a geographic profile."

"Not much there to work with," Rossi stated.

"Hardly anything actually," Reid answered.

"Garcia called a few minutes ago," Hotch said. "She's finished her search for Eagle Mountain High School. She and JJ are contacting all six of the schools they found with a physical description of our victim and a sketch the State Police made. Hopefully we'll generate identification from that."

"I hope so," Morgan added. "Right now we have a whole lot of nothing." He handed a folder to Reid containing the preliminary autopsy report. Reid flipped it open and started to read.

"Good morning," Carla said cheerfully. She sat a glass of orange juice down in front of each of the six people at the table. She then set five coffee cups down and filled each one from a carafe and then set a coffee cup in front of everyone except Jacob, who she knew from experience did not drink coffee. "Are you folks ready to order or do you need some time?"

"Can you give us a few Carla?"

"Sure Jacob. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Once Carla had walked away Jacob said, "Agent Reid, why don't you put away the file until after breakfast? Take a break from the case for a little while?"

Reid closed the file. "I've already read it."

"Of course," Prentiss commented. "Why am I not surprised?" Reid looked at her but didn't say anything.

"I've also read it," Jacob commented. "So has Agent Morgan. So now three of us have read the file, and three of us haven't." He looked around the table. "The rest of you will just have to catch up with us after breakfast, since we're now one step ahead of you."

Rossi tried hard to suppress a smile. "You have a point there," he said.

Carla came back to the table and the group ordered their breakfasts. Hotch carefully steered the conversation around to topics not related directly to the case. "Sheriff, when do you expect to see your son again?"

"I didn't mention it before, but David has some leave coming in September. We are going to meet in Paris and explore the city.

Morgan laughed. "Two bachelors in Paris; sounds like a great time to me!"

"Are you planning on heading to Rome after Paris?" Rossi asked.

"We're thinking about it; maybe London also. It depends. We'll see."

"Sounds like fun," Reid commented.

"Right. I'm sure every twenty-two year old on leave from the military wants to spend time with their father in Paris, Rome and London."

"Is he bringing any of his army buddies with him?" Reid asked.

"No, it's just him and me."

"Then he must want to spend time with you," Reid responded. "Otherwise he'd bring friends."

"He's got a point there Sheriff," Rossi added.

Jacob looked thoughtful. "Maybe he does." He looked up as he saw Carla approaching with their food.

"Oh my!" Prentiss exclaimed as her sausage and eggs was set down in front of her. "This is huge! Look at all those potatoes!"

"All my portions are like that honey," Carla told her. "This is Alaska after all." After refilling their coffee cups and bringing Jacob another glass of orange juice Carla left them to eat their meals.

"Sheriff, who eats chili for breakfast?" Morgan asked.

"It's a chili cheese omelet. Carla makes her own chili," Jacob told him.

"It's still chili," Morgan responded.

"I'm curious about something… We've been in here several times in the couple days we've been here and Carla has waited on us every time. Doesn't she ever take a break?" Hotch asked as he spread jelly on a biscuit.

"Carla feels it's her personal duty to take care of me, so any time I come in she waits on me personally."

"Why is that?" Reid asked.

Jacob shrugged. "She feels I'm by myself with no family nearby, so she tried to make up for that." He sighed. "And she knows I worry about David being in Iraq."

"She sounds like your personal version of Penelope Garcia," Rossi quipped.

"Miss Garcia is like that?"

"You have no idea," Rossi answered.

"She'd probably find it amusing to hear you refer to her as 'Miss Garcia'," Reid said.

"Most people call her Garcia or Penelope," Hotch added.

"I don't call a lady by her first name until she tells me its okay for me to do so," Jacob responded.

"You're a gentleman," Morgan laughed.

"That's something that is in short supply these days," Prentiss said.

"Ladies are sometimes in short supply as well," Jacob responded.

The banter continued as the group ate their breakfasts. Once they were finished eating the discussion drifted around to the case. "I certainly hope JJ and Garcia find something," Reid said. "We basically have nothing to work at this point in time." He sighed. "If we could identify these victims of course we could work victimology and I would have more for a geographic profile."

"We will identify them; and when we do we'll know how to proceed," Morgan said. As if on cue Morgan's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D. display. "It's Garcia… What do you have for me, Garcia?" He listened for a minute. "Are they sure... Okay, fax all the information to Sheriff Reischl's office. Thanks Garcia."

"What is it?" Rossi asked.

"Garcia and JJ think they've identified the fourth victim. They're faxing the information to Sheriff Reischl's office."

Jacob waved at Carla. "We have to get to the office Carla. Can you bring the check?"

"Be right there," she called.

A few minutes later they were all back at Jacob's office, and Jacob was pulling several pages of information off his fax machine. He handed the papers to Hotch who flipped through them. "Garcia and JJ faxed a copy of the sketch plus a description to each of the six Eagle Mountain High Schools they found. A counselor at a school outside Boulder believes they know the girl as a former student named Christina Belkas. JJ is contacting the family regarding a DNA sample for positive identification; as well as any additional information they may be able to provide regarding what she might have been doing in Alaska. Ms. Belkas has no criminal record, which explains why her fingerprints were not in the system."

"The preliminary autopsy report indicates evidence of sexual assault, but no foreign DNA was recovered," Reid said.

"They're still working on processing the clothing and shoes she was wearing," Morgan added.

"I'm still confused as to my connection to all this. I don't know this girl," Jacob said.

"You don't have to know the girl," Rossi said. "Actually our entire theory of your connection to these cases could be wrong."

"Agent Rossi, how often are you wrong?"

Rossi smiled. "Not very often; however, often enough to remind ourselves we're not perfect."

Morgan's brow furrowed. "Kid, what are you looking at?"

"I'm not sure, Morgan. I keep thinking there's a pattern I'm missing here, but I don't know what it is," Reid told him.

"A pattern? Where?" Hotch asked.

"Between the four dump sites…"

"I thought you said there was nothing to work with geographically," Prentiss pointed out.

Reid didn't respond. He was engrossed in looking at the area map mounted on the wall. All of a sudden he picked a marker up off the table and traced three lines on the map; the first one diagonally from where the first victim had been found to where the second victim had been found. The line ran northeast to southwest and passed through the intersection of the Parks Highway and the Weird Connection. Reid then drew a line from victim number two to victim number three. This line crossed the Weird Connection, but not the Parks Highway. He then drew a third line connecting victim three to victim four, and continued the line connecting victim one to victim four. "Sheriff, do you see the pattern here?"

"An upside down isosceles triangle," Jacob answered.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before," Reid commented.

"What does this tell us?" Jacob asked.

"I'm not sure yet…"

"Reid, you could just as easily have drawn a circle as you did a triangle," Morgan commented.

"You could; however the line wouldn't cross through victim number four. Therefore… Wait! You said a circle, Morgan!"

"Yeah, I know that kid."

"Sheriff, do you have a globe?"

"No Agent Reid, I don't. They'll have one at the school."

"Why do you want a globe Reid?" Rossi asked.

"Circles," Reid said absently.

"Uh, circles?" Rossi asked.

"I can't believe I didn't see this before!" Reid flipped through a stack of maps and then pulled one out and tacked it up next to the area map he had been looking at. He traced an imaginary line Northwest to Southeast from Alaska through Canada, the United States and across the Atlantic Ocean and through Australia. "Hmm…" He then traced an imaginary line Northeast to Southwest from victim one through victim two and then across the Pacific Ocean and through South Korea. "Sheriff, weren't you stationed in South Korea and Australia for a time?"

"Yes, I was."

"Do you know what a Great Circle is?" Reid asked.

"Yes of course," Jacob answered.

"Uh, Great Circle?" Prentiss asked.

"A Great Circle is a circle defined by the intersection of the surface of the Earth and any plane that passes through the center of the Earth, and divides the sphere into two equal hemispheres. The shortest distance between two points often lies along a Great Circle; therefore many airline flight paths follow them. There are an unlimited number of Great Circles we could trace, but these two intersect near Weird, Alaska and run through two different countries where you were once stationed. The two Great Circles intersect in two places; one is in the middle of the ocean, the other is the location where victim number two was found. Therefore I believe our connection lies between victim two and Australia and South Korea."

"Reid, how much knowledge would you have to have about geography to figure this out?" Hotch asked.

Reid shrugged. "Not that much. The only thing is it's not readily apparent on a large scale map because you can't see the angle the lines have to follow to form the circles. You need a small scale map for that to be noticeable. The UnSub would need to know that much at least. It doesn't need to be a precise angle following exact coordinates, just enough for the circle to pass through Australia; and the other through South Korea."

"At least we now have a starting point, we have victim number four identified; and we have a connection between the second victim and Australia and South Korea. Let's see what else we can figure out."

/\/\/\/\

9


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Sorry for the length of time between updates. I've had the handwritten version of this done for at least three or four days; I've just not had enough time to type it up. I'll try to do better next time, lol! Currently working on the next chapter of '_A Force of Nature: Part II'_.

**Disclaimer: **See my profile!

Spoilers for _'52 Pickup'_ (Season Four).

/\/\/\/\

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Eleven

/\/\/\/\

Reid poured over several large maps he had spread out on the table in the workroom the team had been given. "Notice anything else about the Great Circles?" Rossi asked.

Reid looked up and shook his head. "I don't think I am going to get anything more precise out of that. The calculations to get a circle going through this area and the exact location around Catalan Point* where Sheriff Reich was stationed probably would not have been possible. It's only a Great Circle if it divides the sphere, in this case the Earth, into two equal hemispheres."

"So the UnSub was just telling us Australia and Weird, Alaska," Rossi stated.

"Yes. Since the Sheriff was only stationed one place the two years he spent in Australia, the point is not that difficult to make."

"Same thing with Korea as well?"

Reid nodded. "Yes. I haven't found any other locations the circles pass through that are associated with places Sheriff Reischl has been stationed, vacationed or visited."

Hotch had been half listening to Reid and Rossi's conversation while he spoke with JJ on the phone. "So it's clear there is a connection to something the Sheriff saw or witnessed, or someone he knew in both Australia and Korea."

"That has to be the case," Morgan added. "What would be the point of giving us both locations otherwise?"

"Is it possible he knows these girls and just doesn't realize he does?" Prentiss asked.

"You tell me Emily. We have known Sheriff Reischl for a few days now. He doesn't strike me as someone who would forget these four young girls even if they were a lot younger when he knew them," Reid responded.

"What if they're related to people he knows? If that were the case the key to figuring out what the UnSub's point is would still be identifying them," Morgan added.

"It's also possible the girls have no actual connection to Sheriff Reischl, and only the locations do. Therefore we have to help him figure out who or what he knows that the UnSub expects him to figure out," Hotch said.

"What if he doesn't know the girls themselves, but does know someone he was stationed with or met in Australia or Korea or both who is from the same hometowns they are?" Rossi asked.

Jacob chose just that moment to walk out of his office. "I need a break," he complained. "I've been sitting at that damn computer for way too long. I sill have a job to do, therefore I am going to go make my regular rounds." He handed Morgan two sheets of paper. "Here is part of your list. It's the names of about three fourths of the personal I served with in Australia."

"Already? That was quick," Morgan answered.

"It wasn't that difficult Agent Morgan. There are only 140 active U.S. military personnel stationed in Australia right now. When the ones who came and went were taken into consideration there are only about 200 names to worry about. I was able to come up with around a hundred of them on my own, and another forty-five through public records. The rest I had to put in an official request for."

"Did you say 140 active duty?"

Jacob nodded. "There are no active U.S. military bases in Australia Agent Hotchner. I mean Hotch, sorry! All we have there are intelligence stations, a satellite installation and a training camp. Occasionally there are additional personnel in the country to conduct or take part in training exercises with the Australian Defense Force; however most of the time we have less than 150 people there."

"I had no idea," Prentiss said. She turned to Reid. "How come you didn't know that?"

"I keep telling you, I don't know everything."

"Sorry," Prentiss responded.

"Sheriff," Reid began. "Did you meet anyone while in the military that was from Boulder, Colorado?"

"Excuse me?"

"I had a thought," Rossi began. "I was thinking perhaps the UnSub might be trying to tell you he's picking girls from the same home towns as people you met while you were stationed in Korea or Australia."

Jacob stared at Rossi. "You're kidding me! I just spent three hours trying to make a list of everyone in my units; and contacting the U.S. Army for names of those I can't remember on my own. Now you want me to try and figure out what their home towns are?"

"If we have the names we can find the home towns on our own," Prentiss said.

"Depending on how thorough whoever responds to your queries is, they may even provide you with that information without being asked," Hotch added.

"Any maybe the Big One will hit tomorrow and California will break off from the Continental United States and float away to China."

"To be honest Sheriff, that can't actually happen. You see, the seismic forces, plus the thickness of the land mass, couple with the rate of Continental Drift at approximately one inch per year along with…"

"Reid…" Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi said all at once.

"Uh yeah, sorry!" Reid quickly shut up and looked down at his maps.

"The army can be very efficient," Hotch said.

"They can be they can _not_ be. Why would they volunteer information they haven't been asked for? I asked for names, units and dates of deployment. I didn't ask for home towns." He looked at Reid. "Agent Reid, I think if you have something to add to the conversation I personally believe you should feel free to say it. If they had someone like you in Hollywood perhaps some motion pictures would contain more science and less fiction; or at least more believable fiction coupled with science."

Reid looked back at him. "Well I…"

They all turned around as the door to the outer office opened and a tall man in his fifties with graying black hair walked in. "Morning Sheriff," he called out.

"Morning Dooley. What can I do for you?"

"Del told me he returned _'Deception'_. I wanted to check it out."

"You are next on the list. Lloyd is asking for _'The Lost Symbol'_. Did you bring it back?"

"I have it right here."

"Okay, you know what to do. Sign _'Deception'_ out, sign _'The Lost Symbol'_ back in." Dooley looked curiously at the BAU team. "Uh Dooley, there are Agents Hotchner, Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss and Reid from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the F.B.I. Guys, this gentleman is Dooley Lynwood. He owns the General Store."

"Oh yes…the F.B.I. people." Prentiss smiled at Dooley who then looked at Hotch. "Lloyd is right; you do look like his son." He headed for the small room Jacob had set up as a library.

"I would like to meet Lloyd's son someday," Rossi said with amusement.

"Dylan's been down in Anchorage for a few years now. He comes up this way every now and then. Maybe when you head back to Anchorage you could run into him," Jacob grinned.

"Sure," Hotch responded. "By the way, I just spoke with Agent Jareau. She and Garcia have spoken with the parents of Christina Belkas, and they've identified our fourth victim via photographic evidence as their daughter. We are going ahead with DNA analysis. She is going to speak with them again in a couple hours regarding what she may have been doing in Alaska. She offered to fly down and speak to them in person; however they said she didn't need to go to all that trouble."

Jacob sighed. "I don't know if I could be as strong as some of these families are if anything ever happened to Daniel like that. It's hard enough dealing with him being over in Iraq. At least I know where he is." He mentally shook himself. "I've got to get going. I'll be back in a couple hours."

"May I come along?" Reid asked.

"If you like." Reid stood up and grabbed his jacket. As he was putting it on Dooley came out of the library carrying three books. "What else did you find?"

"I have a novel by Alistair MacLean I haven't read in a while; and I found this book about the minds of serial killers that looks interesting. It's by someone named David Rossi." He looked over at Rossi.

"I have all your books," Jacob explained.

"Not only do we have the F.B.I. up here, we also have a celebrity," Dooley commented. "Nice to meet you," he told Rossi before going out the door.

"He seems pretty sharp," Rossi commented with amusement.

"He and Lloyd especially are highly intelligent. They try to outdo each other on how many books they can read in a month, how many subjects they can expound on and so forth." He looked at Reid. "You set?"

"Yes, all set."

After the two men went out the door Rossi said, "Did Reid do that on purpose?"

"Do what on purpose?" Morgan asked.

"Ask to go along with the Sheriff. Do you think he did it for a reason, or does he just want to go out walking around with Sheriff Reischl?"

"He likes the guy," Hotch responded. "Maybe he also figures he might notice something we can use while they're out going around town."

Prentiss chuckled. "I was just thinking about what the Sheriff said about Dooley and Lloyd 'expounding'. That sounds just like Reid."

/\

"Is your knee up to this? I do a lot of walking on this job."

"I'm fine." He fell into step next to Jacob. "I'd like to take a look at your library, just to see what you have in there."

"It's fairly eclectic because I do buy some books just because I think someone in town will be interested in them. Michael Crichton, Tony Hillerman, Dick Francis, Jonathan Kellerman, Alistair MacLean, Dan Brown; I have all of their books. And, of course I have all of Agent Rossi's books as well. There are a few other authors who I have most or some of their books. I even have a few romances. I have two copies of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, and I also have some children's books for the kids. A couple of the high school students talked me into getting all four _'Twilight'_ books for them."

"I've never read _'Twilight'_," Reid commented.

"I guess you are in the minority. Anyway, I order most of these books online. , , ; they all love me. Hell, I think I'm their best customer!"

"You buy all these books out of your own pocket?"

"Some of the people in town will contribute books or magazines they have; or purchase something they think it's a good idea to have; however I probably have purchased close to seventy-five percent of what we have myself."

"I think it's a wonderful idea to start your own library."

"I guess that small room full of books has made a pretty good impact. Dooley actually used to let people exchange books and magazines through his store, but it's more convenient to do it this way." He pointed down the street. "We're going to do a walk around the school yard first." He looked over at Reid. "Agent Reid, why did you want to come along with me?"

"I just wanted to."

"Really?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I was a little surprised is all."

"Why?"

Jacob looked at him. "I hope you won't take this the wrong way… I just can't help wondering if you only came along to see what information I can provide you once I relax a little in your company."

"I won't deny that thought crossed my mind. However, I also wanted to get out of the office and see more of the area." He looked straight ahead as they walked.

"I didn't mean anything by it Agent Reid. I was just curious."

"It's not a problem Sheriff."

"I bet people are constantly underestimating you Agent Reid."

Reid looked him. "I bet people underestimate you as well Sheriff."

/\

"If they think it would help for us to come down there in person we can easily do that JJ," Hotch said. Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss sat at the table listening to JJ and Garcia over speakerphone.

"_Her mother told us everything she could remember about this job her daughter applied for; however her father seems to think a friend of Christina's might know more. The friend is out of town until tomorrow though; so I can't talk to him just yet."_

"But do they think it would help for us to come down to Colorado in person to speak with some of her friends? We can be there tomorrow if they do," Rossi said.

"_It might help. Mrs. Belkas said a lot of Christina's friends are in shock right now just like she and her husband are. If we were there in person it might help to put them at ease."_

"It's a long way to travel," Prentiss said.

"I agree it's a good idea to go, but if we drive down to Anchorage, unless we all go or are dropped off, whomever stays behind won't have access to a vehicle because the other SUV is in Fairbanks," Morgan said.

Hotch thought for a moment. "JJ, contact our pilot down in Anchorage, and have him fly the jet up to Fairbanks. Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss and I will drive into Fairbanks. Rossi, Prentiss, you and I will fly down to Colorado while Morgan, Garcia and Reid remain in Alaska to work on the case from this end."

"_Oh yeah," Garcia piped in. "I get to stay in Alaska with my two favorite men!"_

Rossi chuckled. "I'm disappointed Garcia. I thought I was one of your two favorite men!"

"_You __**are **__sir," Garcia giggled. "So is Hotch!"_

"So you are saying all four of us are your two favorite men?" Morgan grinned. "What about Sheriff Reischl?"

"_Oh yeah, that's a bonus!"_

Hotch rolled his eyes and then sighed. "Focus people, focus," he commanded.

"_I'll call the pilot right away. When will you be here?"_

"We will try to get there later this evening. We need to talk to the Sheriff before we leave."

"_I'll let you know as soon as I've spoken to the pilot." _

"Thank you JJ," Hotch said. He disconnected and turned to the others. "Here's what we will do; we'll drive into Fairbanks and Morgan will keep the SUV and pick us up in Fairbanks when we come back."

"Shall I stay in Fairbanks or come back here?" Morgan asked.

"I know what Garcia would prefer!" Prentiss teased.

"That probably depends somewhat on how long we'll be gone," Rossi said.

"Let's see what the situation is with the State Police once we arrive; and then we can decide. Either way it won't be for longer than a day or two," Hotch answered.

/\

As soon as Reid and Jacob reached the school the younger children swarmed around Reid asking him to show them another magic trick. Jacob couldn't help smiling as he watched one boy jump up and down with excitement. Reid laughed as he looked at Dina. "I don't usually receive this sort of reaction from children. In fact, aside from my Godson I usually scare them. My other team members refer to it as 'The Reid Effect'."

Dina laughed. "I like this 'Reid Effect' better."

"So do I," Helen, the other teacher, added. "It's nice to see them so excited."

Reid reached into his bag and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. He then set the bag down on the ground. "Do you see this pen?" After the students nodded he continued in a stage whisper, "_This_ is a _magic_ pen!" He held up the paper, on which he had sketched a drawing.

"It looks like an alien," Timmy, one of the boys, laughed.

Reid looked at the drawing. "Hmm… If he were green we could call him a Martian, and then he would be a little green man from Mars." He nodded at the children. "Now, what we're going to do is take this magic pen and poke a hole through the paper right here…" Reid pushed the pen through the paper and showed the students it was sticking out the other side.

"You made a hole in it," Timmy protested.

"I did? Oops! I didn't mean to make a hole!" Reid pulled the pen to the edge of the paper and showed it to the students before placing it in an outside pocket of his bag. He then held up the drawing which had no visible hole and no tear where he had pulled the pen to the edge of the paper.

"Where's the hole?" Roger, another of the students, exclaimed.

"I told you it was a magic pen," Reid said, relieved the same trick he'd used to impress Austin a couple years previous had also impressed the young students. He handed the drawing to Timmy, who turned it over a couple of times looking for a hole or a tear in the paper. Reid looked around. "Where is my magic pen?" he asked.

"I saw you put it in your bag," Roger said.

Reid pretended to look in his bag. "I don't see it in here." He looked at Jacob. "Sheriff, how did you get my pen?" He reached over and pulled the pen out of a pocket on the front of Jacob's shirt.

"How did that get there?" Jacob asked with a smile on his face.

Reid reached into his bag once more and found a few more sketches he had idly drawn and handed one to each of the children, who seemed impressed by them. A few minutes later after walking around the school with the six young students trailing them Reid and Jacob headed for their next destination. After waving goodbye to the children and the two teachers Reid said, "I think I better come up with a better trick for the next time I see those kids. That one was on the fly."

"I thought it was pretty good. Maybe you should plan on giving a magic show for the whole school," Jacob laughed. "If the older students find out they'll want to see also."

"I don't know," Reid smiled. "I'm not that good in front of crowds."

"Neither am I most of the time."

Just then Reid's cell phone rang. "Hey Morgan." Reid listened for a moment. "Okay, we'll come right back." He closed his phone and put it back on his belt. "Morgan said part of the team needs to fly down to Colorado. Hotch wants us to come back to your office so they can explain."

"Let's head back then. We can finish this later."

/\/\/\/\

*Fictional location.

**A/N: ** I think I did a bad job of describing this trick…

11


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

Spoilers for 'A Force of Nature'_, _Chapter Two

**/\/\/\/\**

'_**Weird, Alaska'**_

_Chapter Twelve_

**/\/\/\/\**

"How long will you be gone?" Reid asked.

"We're not sure yet," Hotch answered. "Christina Belkas' boyfriend comes back into town tomorrow; and we have several friends and family members we'd like to speak with. I'm not sure how long all that will take."

"When are you leaving?" Jacob asked.

"Right away," Rossi answered. "Our pilot will be leaving Anchorage to fly up to Fairbanks within the hour."

Jacob nodded. "I hope this gets us someplace. This case is really starting to get to me because I just can't figure out how I fit into it."

"Sheriff, it's probably something that won't make any sense to you until you know what it is," Morgan said.

"Then I will have a moment of clarity?"

"Most likely."

"Hmm…"

The entire group walked out to the SUV. Reid and Jacob stood and watched while Morgan, Rossi, Hotch and Prentiss climbed in. "Try not to cause to much trouble while I'm gone kid," Morgan commented as he started the engine.

"Very funny Morgan," Reid retorted. Morgan laughed as the vehicle pulled away and headed for the Weird Connection.

"Maybe we'll solve the case while they're gone," Jacob commented.

Reid shrugged. "We could."

"I have to finish my rounds. Then I'm expecting to hear from a friend in Army Records a little later. Are you coming?"

"Sure." The two men turned and headed back toward the school to continue their walk around town.

/\

"Are you sure about that Phil?" Jacob asked his friend on the phone a couple hours later. "Thanks a lot. Can you fax that to me?" He hung up the phone and turned to Reid. "My buddy Phil found the rest of the names from Australia for me. He's going to try and push my request for Korea through quickly; but he can only get so involved."

"Any little bit will help. He's faxing the names to you then?"

"Yes, right away."

"Sheriff…with so few military personnel in Australia, wouldn't you remember if any of them were also stationed with you in Korea?"

"I've been wondering about that myself. I would think I would, and that's another thing about this that is driving me crazy!"

"It could be there were in a different unit in Korea and you didn't come in contact with them. Or maybe they just passed through on their way to someplace else?"

Jacob looked at Reid. "Agent Reid, I didn't think to ask about the training command in Australia. That adds a few more possibilities to the list." He sighed. "I need to call Phil back. Excuse me for a moment."

While Jacob called his friend back Reid left the office and wandered over to the Café. Carla greeted him and asked where everyone else was. Reid told her they were headed for Fairbanks to work on another aspect of the case, and asked to order some food for himself and Jacob to go. Carla told him to sit down while he waited and brought him a glass of blended iced coffee to drink. Less than thirty minutes after leaving the office Reid was back carrying a bag with two large Styrofoam containers, two smaller containers and two cups. Jacob was still on the phone when Reid set one of the cups along with two of the containers down in front of him. Jacob looked up and then at the containers as if he hadn't realized he were hungry, finished his conversation and then hung up. "Carla says hello," Reid commented.

"Thank you Agent Reid," Jacob said. "I almost forgot about eating!"

Reid sat down on the other side of the desk and pulled out his own containers. "What did your friend say?"

"He said it will take a little while longer. He has already faxed the other names, however." He looked inside his containers. "Ah! Bacon cheeseburger with Swiss, seasoned fries and a salad! My favorites!"

Reid laughed. "I asked Carla what I should order. I mean I know what you have ordered since we've been here, but I wasn't sure. She said I was always safe with a cheeseburger, an omelet, or a pizza."

Jacob laughed out loud. "Yes, she knows me pretty well." He opened a container of Thousand Island salad dressing and poured it over the salad, and then picked up a fork and started to eat.

In between bites Reid asked, "Sheriff, what made you choose the military?"

Jacob shrugged. "It just felt like the right thing to do at the time. It's not for everyone, but it's not a bad life either."

"I am curious about something else…"

"What's that?"

"How did you find out about this job here in Weird as the Sheriff?"

"When I started thinking about leaving the military I started doing searches on positions available I felt I was qualified for, and the father of one of my army buddies suggested I look for opportunities in Alaska. This job popped up on the radar and Larry thought it was a great idea."

"Larry? The friend from Barrow?"

Jacob nodded. "Yes. I applied for the position, I was hired and here I am ten years later."

"You seem to like it here."

"It has it's good points."

"It _**is**_ a little isolated."

"It is. It is also expensive and a major undertaking to go anywhere further than across the street. But I do love it here."

"I can tell."

The two men ate in silence for a few minutes before Jacob spoke. "So how about you Agent Reid? Do you like where you live?"

Reid shrugged. "It's not bad. It's a short plane or train ride to New York City, Philadelphia, Boston…"

"Do you go to any of those places?"

"I have been to New York City a couple of times on cases."

"What about on your own? As a tourist?"

Reid looked up. "I don't have much time for that. I work a lot."

"I get that Agent Reid. But you can't be working all of the time. Have you ever attended a symphony performance?"

"Just once."

"Baseball game?"

"I don't really follow sports Sheriff."

"Baseball is a great game. And there are so many statistics involved in the game I would think you would love it."

"I know a lot of the statistics Sheriff."

"But I bet you don't know what they mean, or at least the practical applications of the numbers involved." Reid stared at him. Jacob stood up, rinsed out his containers and tossed them into a recycling bin he had placed near the water cooler. "Didn't you say you liked _Star Trek_?"

"I **love **_Star Trek_!"

"Have you ever been to one of the conventions?"

Reid's expression brightened. "Yes, I have! Once in Las Vegas I went to a _Star Trek_ convention."

"How often did you go to the movies while you were in school Agent Reid?"

Reid's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Ever been to a rock concert?"

"I don't follow a lot of popular music Sheriff."

Jacob sighed. "Forgive me if this offends you Agent Reid; but I so see myself in you! You can probably quote Shakespeare word for word, however you can't fully experience Shakespeare unless you see a play live. You think a Springsteen concert isn't better than just listening to a CD? You watch _'Star Trek'_; do you think it would be the same if you had just read a book about it? You like Beethoven? How many symphony performances have you been to? One. You are going through life collecting facts, not experiences. You need to concentrate a little more on the experience and a little less on the facts themselves. When I was younger I was a lot like you are. I never figured out how to enjoy myself until my parents forced me to. They refused to continue to allow me to skip grades in school. I graduated at age sixteen, but it could have been sooner. I learned to have a life."

"I have a life," Reid protested.

Jacob smiled a sad smile. "Not enough of one, I don't think. Don't let your job and your statistics _be_ your life Agent Reid." Reid watched as he walked over to the fax machine and pulled a couple sheets of paper off of it. Jacob glanced at the papers briefly before turning back to Reid. "This is the list of names from the training exercises while I was in Australia. It doesn't look like any of them were in Korea while I was there."

"I think we should check on them anyway. My I have the list to fax to Garcia?" Jacob handed him the list and Reid stood up and walked over to the fax machine. He placed the pages in the machine, sent Garcia a quick text message indicating what he was sending and what he needed her to do with it, and then pressed the send button. He shook his head and smiled when Garcia sent him back a text reading 'Your wish is my command, oh Junior G Man!' "She's the only one who can get away with calling me that!"

"Excuse me?"

Reid looked up. He hadn't realized he had spoken aloud. "Oh… Uh, Garcia referred to me as 'Junior G-Man. She does that sometimes, and she is the only one who can get away with it."

"I have a feeling she can get away with a lot of things."

"You have no idea Sheriff."

Within half an hour Garcia had sent Reid a list of home towns and current places of residence for every name on the training command list, as well as for the list of names of those Jacob had served with in Australia. "That was quick," Jacob remarked. "I only faxed her my list a few minutes before you sent the second one."

"You should see her go when she's in her own office with her own set up," Reid said with a grin.

"I can imagine."

Jacob watched as Reid took the lists and went over to two large maps he had hung up. One map was a small scale representation of Alaska, and the other a small scale representation of the United States. Reid picked up some push pins in two different colors. As he looked at each name on the list he inserted two pins corresponding to the name into the maps; a red one for their hometown, and a blue one for their current town of residence. Partway down the first page he stopped and slid the board with the map of the USA aside. Behind it was a world map. He scanned it briefly, and then inserted a blue pin on the Island of Guam. By the time he had completed both lists he had a dozen pins indicating residences outside of the United States, with the rest scattered across the country. None of the current residences were in Alaska or close to Boulder, Colorado. "I'm going to need some more pins for the list of names from Korea," Reid commented.

"I have a couple boxes of them. Dooley will have more at the General Store." He walked over and looked at the blue pins on the world map. "Hmm… Guam, still in the military; Philippines, still in the military; Germany, military; Tahiti?" He laughed. "Extended vacation? Job offer?"

Reid looked at the list. "No occupations listed."

"Well, I _have _to find out how the hell this guy ended up in Tahiti!" He looked at the list. "Name isn't familiar, so it's obviously not someone I know well enough to call and say, 'Hey, what are you doing in Tahiti there, friend?'"

Reid laughed. "Have you ever been to Tahiti?"

"In the middle of winter, when I'm freezing my ass off and cursing the dark, my mind puts me in Tahiti, or Fiji or Hawaii or back in Australia; some place tropical and warm. But in real life, no I've never been to Tahiti."

"You should go then."

Jacob shrugged. "Katrina and I have talked about it."

"Katrina?"

Jacob looked at him. "Really Agent Reid. I know you all have been checking up on me. Like I said before, I would be surprised if you didn't check up on me. Certainly someone must have told you about Katrina."

Reid cleared his throat. "Well…we did have Garcia look into a few things. As far as Katrina, Deputy Talbot did mention her name. But he didn't mean anything by it."

"Of course he didn't. No one ever does. But that doesn't stop any of them from talking about it and anything else that comes up about me."

"I…guess the town likes you."

"I know they like me, and I like them as well. However, that does not mean most of them aren't gossips; or that butting in isn't considered an Olympic sport around Weird."

"I have my own personal version of that with my team." Reid made a face. "It's as if it were their mission in life to butt into my personal life and run it, if possible."

"Like a family."

"Yes, like a family. An overbearing, nosy sort of family!"

Jacob chuckled and reached for his ringing office phone. "Hey Colin. Run any vehicles off the road lately?" He listened for a moment and then groaned. "Thanks for the warning. Bye." Jacob sighed and looked at Reid. "That was an Edith alert from Colin, the one who almost ran us off the road with his Land Rover the other night. He just left the café and said she is headed this way."

"You could sneak out."

"Not enough time, she would see me."

"Back door?" Reid suggested.

Jacob sighed. "No, I am still the Sheriff. I'll just have to stay and deal with it." He sat down at his desk and a couple minutes later Edith walked in the door. "What can I do for you today Edith?"

"You can stop those damn kids from getting into my shed!"

"What? Someone is breaking into your shed?"

"It's those damn kids again!"

"Which kids would that be Edith?"

"Don't get smart with me Jacob! Those kids from the high school!"

Jacob sighed. "Which ones Edith?"

"The same ones as last time!"

"Edith, the kids you accused last time were down in Fairbanks at the time."

"That doesn't mean they didn't do it this time."

"Okay Edith. Why don't you go on home, and I will meet you out by your shed in about twenty minutes."

Jacob sighed after Edith walked out in a huff. "What now?" Reid asked.

"I go over there and look at her shed and promise to investigate the break in."

"Does she actually have a break in?"

"Probably, but not by the local high school kids. She won't listen to me, Wade, Colin or even Louisa when we tell her to put a decent lock on the shed door. She keeps pet supplies out there, and the local wildlife can smell them."

"So she has bears breaking into her shed?"

"You got it." Jacob stood up. "I'll be back later." He pulled on his jacket and headed out the door leaving Reid in the office."

/\

When Jacob returned to his office nearly two hours later Reid was still at the board, but with a lot more push pins stuck into his maps. There were more red pins than any other color, but Jacob noticed the other pins were now a mixture of blue and several other colors. "Agent Reid, what happened to the blue pins?" he asked.

"Oh, Dooley had some red ones left over from Christmas, but he didn't have any boxes that were all blue, so I am using multicolored ones to mark the current residences. Any color but red so I don't get them mixed up. As long as I know the red ones signify the hometowns it doesn't really matter what color the others are."

"Makes sense. I take it the list from Korea came?"

"Part of it did; however I'm still waiting on some more names." He turned to look at Jacob. "What happened with the shed and the bear?"

Jacob made a face. "Try explaining to a stubborn old woman for over an hour it's an animal breaking into her storage shed when she's convinced herself it's 'those damn kids' as she puts it."

"Maybe she just wants attention," Reid suggested.

"Oh I think she does." Jacob sighed. "We put on another lock, but who knows if it will work this time?" He leaned back in his chair. "Take a break Agent Reid. Carla sent us over a couple pieces of cheesecake." Reid set his list and his push pins down and sat across from Jacob to eat a piece of cheesecake. He definitely did not have to be asked twice.

**/\/\/\/\**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **See my profile!

/\/\/\/\

_**'Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Thirteen

/\/\/\/\

"Not one?" Morgan asked.

"Not a single one," Reid answered. "I've checked every name I was given from Sheriff Reischl's time in Australia and Korea, and none of them live there now."

"How about other family members?"

Even though he was speaking to Morgan on the phone and not face to face, Reid still shook his head. "None that I have found so far." He heard Morgan sigh. "That doesn't mean the theory is wrong, it just means we haven't found the right connection yet."

"Or it could mean Boulder has no connection to the case, but Australia and Korea do. Which would mean Christina Belkas being from Boulder doesn't mean anything in particular." Morgan sighed again. "Okay kid. I'm waiting to hear from Hotch. I won't be back until tomorrow. We'll let you know what they found out."

Reid disconnected and slid the phone into its holder on his belt. He sat on the edge of the table and made a face as he looked at his two maps covered with push pins. "What's all that Agent Reid?"

Reid turned around to see Deputy Talbot standing in the doorway. "The red pins represent the hometowns of all the names of the people who served with Sheriff Reischl, and the other colors represent where they live now."

"Oh." Talbot walked over and looked at the United States map. "I see a pin in Barrow." He laughed.

"What's so funny?" Reid asked.

Talbot pointed at the map. "That's Larry, that friend of Jacob's who hates _'Thirty Days of Night'_ because some people think Barrow is full of vampires."

Reid nodded. "That is who the pin is for. I had forgotten he told us that story."

Talbot chuckled. "Has Jacob gone home?"

Reid shook his head. "Not yet. He went to check on a vandalism report at a hunter's cabin. He told me I better not still be here working when he gets back."

"That sounds like something he would say. I have to get going. I just came by to leave a package on Jacob's desk he asked me to pick up in Healy. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"Good night," Reid responded as the deputy headed out the door. After he was gone Reid sat looking at the map for a few more minutes before picking up his jacket and putting it on. He wasn't going to get anything more out of the maps tonight by staring at them, he decided. He yawned briefly before picking up his messenger bag and heading out the door. He dutifully locked the front door of the office behind him as Jacob had requested before heading over to the lodge.

/\

Reid was startled awake by a loud noise. He sat up and looked around him and then at the alarm clock near his bed. Six am.? He heard the noise again and climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. He looked out but was unable to see anything. He heard the noise a third time and decided it sounded like some sort of generator trying to start up; but he couldn't tell for certain what direction it was coming from. Within a couple of minutes he saw Jacob heading down the street with a determined stride. Curious as to what was going on Reid grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom.

When Reid walked into the lobby a little while later the racket had ceased. Lloyd, who was behind the front desk, spotted him. "Noise wake you up Agent Reid?"

"Well...yes. I came down to find out what it was."

Lloyd shrugged. "My guess is it was Emmett. Jacob went over to check. Damn relatives moaned and groaned til I called Jacob this morning. Not like they're paying customers taking up my damn rooms," he grumbled. He made a face. "Here comes one of them now."

Reid shook his head and walked outside. He decided to head in the direction he had seen Sheriff Reischl walking in. After a few minutes he came around the corner of a building and spotted him a few yards ahead talking to a middle-aged man dressed in a flannel shirt and Dickies. As he moved a little closer he could make out what they were saying.

"Damn it Emmett! I was up half the night investigating vandalism reports, and this morning I have half the town calling me before six am. Complaining about the noise you're making!"

"You should have never given people your home number Sheriff."

"That's _**not**_ funny Emmett!"

"Come on Jacob! I'm just testing my generators!"

"At 5:45 in the morning?"

Emmett shrugged. "It's as good of a time as any."

"The hell it is!"

"Ah come on Jacob! What are you worried about those whiny people for anyway?"

"Emmett, they live here the same as you do."

"They complain too much."

"Remember you said that the next time you come to me and complain that Joel's diesel truck is making too much noise."

"Humph!" Emmett grumbled as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I don't want to hear those generators start up again until after eight o'clock. Are we clear on that?" As Emmett opened his mouth to protest Jacob repeated, "Are we clear on that?"

"Yeah...okay," Emmett said, rolling his eyes.

"I swear to God Emmett I think you and Edith are in a competition to see who can annoy me the most."

Emmett snickered. "No way! I'm not delusional enough to think I'm thirty years younger, fifty pounds lighter and good looking to boot."

"Emmett, I'm warning you!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay! Eight o'clock! I get it!"

"Just be sure you do." As Emmett turned away Jacob turned round and spotted Reid standing a few yards away. "Out for a morning stroll Agent Reid?"

"Well, uh... No, not exactly. I heard a noise and saw you heading this way..."

Jacob sighed. "Come on, let's head for the Cafe."

The two men started walking back the way Reid had come. "Just out of curiosity," Reid began.

"Emmett builds custom engines. Aside from his deliberate attempts to annoy people, he uses two generators as a separate power source for his work."

"Oh, okay. I admit I was a little curious what he was up to."

"You mean aside from driving me crazy?"

"Uh...yes."

Jacob shook his head. "It seems like when half the people in town are not deliberately butting into everyone else's business, they're either annoying each other or complaining about one of their neighbors annoying _them_." He sighed. "That's life in a small town for you."

"How did the vandalism investigation go last night?"

Jacob shook his head. "This one was no bear, definitely a human."

"Was anything stolen, or just damaged?"

"Broken front window, damage to a small shed where they keep extra firewood, not much else and he couldn't find anything missing. The owner is actually from Wasilla. He came up to check on what needed to be done to get the cabin ready for the season. Otherwise he might not have spotted the damage until later in the year."

"Is this cabin isolated?"

Jacob shook his head as he pulled the front door of the Cafe open. "Not really. It's in the woods about two miles from town. I have some that are further out in my jurisdiction." As he slid into a booth he continued. "It's in a location you would only come across accidentally unless you knew it was there. You couldn't see it from the road; but on the other hand there is another cabin a few hundred yards away that can be seen through the trees."

"Was that one vandalized?"

"I checked it out and it doesn't appear to have been. I called the owner and let him know there had been some problems in the area; however he lives down in Oregon. I said there didn't appear to be any damage, but he's going to contact a friend who lives near Fairbanks to come and take a look and see if there is anything missing inside."

Both men looked up as Carla approached the table. "Good morning Agent Reid. I didn't expect to see you this early Jacob," she commented. "I thought you were up pretty late."

"I was. Emmett, however, was up early."

Carla tried to stifle a smile. "Oh yes, I heard the noise. Didn't know you went over there though."

"When one gets thirteen phone calls in the span of a couple minutes one has to go over there."

Carla chuckled. "Good old Emmett!" She took their order, poured some coffee for Reid and left the table still chuckling.

"What's the plan for today Agent Reid?"

"Garcia is trying to obtain local crime reports for when you were stationed in Korea. If she gets them I'll be looking over those."

Jacob shook his head as he watched Reid stir several spoons of sugar into his coffee. "Local crime reports?"

Reid nodded. "Yes. It occurred to me we could be looking for someone connected to you through the location but not the military itself."

Jacob set down the glass of orange juice he had been drinking. "Aside from some of the contractors there's no way we could possibly track all the civilians I came into contact with, especially when it comes to the local people."

"I realize that Sheriff. That's one reason I wanted to look at the crime reports."

"What am I not getting about why you want to do that?"

"Was there a criminal act you or someone you know witnessed? Did anyone in your unit commit a crime, even if it was a petty one? Were there any crimes committed against you? Were there any crimes committed on your base? Against your unit? Could anyone be holding a grudge..." Reid stopped talking when Jacob's eyes widened. "What is it?"

"Alfred Vallejo," Jacob answered.

"Who?"

"Alfred Vallejo."

"I don't remember seeing that name on the list."

Jacob stood up. "That's because he was a civilian." He waved at Carla. "Can you make our order to go? Agent Reid and I need to get to the office."

"Now? Jacob, its not even seven am!"

"Yes, now Carla! It's important!"

"Okay, hold on a minute."

/\/\/\/\


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **See my profile.

**Author's Note: **Okay, so it's been a while since the last chapter. I already know that! What's your point? :- P

XXXX

_'Weird, Alaska'_

Chapter Fourteen

XXXX

"Okay, I have everyone all set up on the conference call," Garcia said. "Who wants to go first?"

"Sheriff, it's Agent Hotchner. Can you explain to us who this Alfred Vallejo is?"

"First off I know him from Korea. I never knew him in Australia; however I can tell you he was from Perth. One day in Seoul a friend of mine and I were shopping when Vallejo stopped us and asked us if we knew how to get to a specific restaurant he was looking for. We were not familiar with the restaurant, but we did know the street it was on, so we gave him directions."

"What is your friend's name?" Rossi asked.

"Sanchez, Lieutenant Duane Sanchez."

"Where is Sanchez located now?" Prentiss asked.

Reid looked at Jacob before answering. "Uh, Cave Creek. That's in Arizona, just outside of Phoenix."

"Have you tried to contact him Reid?" Hotch asked.

"Uh, no."

"Why not?"

"Agent Hotchner, Duane doesn't live in Arizona, he's located there."

"Excuse me?"

"He's buried at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. He died in Afghanistan in 2008."

There was a pause during which everyone seemed to be at a loss to know exactly what to say. "I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friend Sheriff," JJ finally said.

"Thank you Agent Jareau."

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Morgan asked.

"Taliban rocket hit his unit. He died right there are the scene."

There was another brief pause. This time it was broken by Rossi. "I don't mean to sound crass but..."

"I understand. We have a series of murders to solve. Duane and I gave Vallejo directions, he thanked us and off he went. We didn't think anything of it, he was just a guy asking for directions. It wasn't the first or the last time we helped a tourist out."

"What happened next?" Morgan asked. "I'm assuming you came into contact with him again."

"Your assumption is correct. A few days later Duane read a local newspaper article about an assault that had taken place in Seoul that same evening. The victim had described her attacker as English speaking, but not an American. A sketch had been made from her physical description, and the subject looked familiar to us, kind of like this Australian guy we had given directions to. So we informed our unit commander we might have some information on a crime committed in Seoul and he accompanied the two of us to the local police. We didn't actually know Vallejo's last name at the time, we found it out later. We told the police he had said his name was Alfred, told them where he had said he was going and confirmed he looked like the police sketch."

"I've managed to dig up some old articles on the assault and the subsequent trial. I'll send them over to you," Garcia piped in.

"Thank you Penelope," Rossi said.

"What happened after you went to the police?" Morgan asked.

"We went back to our usual duties. We didn't know if we would ever hear from the police again. I think it was around three weeks later we heard something. Since there had been witnesses who were U.S. Military personnel, the military assisted the Seoul police with the investigation. They had been searching through customs records looking for an Australian who might fit the description. They were determined to solve the case. Sexual assaults are not always taken seriously, but when they are the authorities do not mess around. The police decided this case was going to be different, and the Australian authorities were cooperating as well. It didn't look good for one of their citizens to allegedly be responsible for an assault on a local woman in a foreign country. We were contacted to look at a photo line up of possible suspects. Duane and I went in separately and we both picked out the same photo."

"And that was Vallejo?" Hotch asked.

"Yes. That was the first time we heard his last name."

"What happened after that?" Prentiss asked.

"Vallejo had gone back to Australia, so the South Korean government sought to extradite him. Of course it took a little diplomatic maneuvering because despite the Australians cooperation in the investigation there are few countries who want to give up their citizens for prosecution by a foreign government. At the same time they don't want to look like they are excusing the crime. The Australian authorities wanted to try Vallejo in Australia."

"Was he extradited or no?" Rossi asked.

"Eventually yes. The public outcry in Australia may have had something to do with it. There were some people who didn't want him to be extradited, partly because they don't always trust a foreign government to treat their fellow citizens fairly; but enough felt he should face the music that it apparently influenced the Australian government's decision to allow extradition."

"Did you testify at the trial?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, Duane and I both testified."

"I'm assuming he was convicted?" JJ asked.

"June 17, 1985," Reid stated. "Alfred Vallejo was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to fifteen years in prison."

"He was released in May of 1991," Garcia piped in.

"He didn't serve his entire sentence then," Hotch stated.

"No," Garcia answered.

"So this guy has been out running around loose for almost twenty years?" Morgan asked.

"Yes," Garcia responded.

"Does it appear as if there was any pressure put on the Korean government to release Vallejo early?" Rossi asked.

"I would think that was likely," Hotch responded. "More than likely quiet, behind the scenes maneuvering and diplomatic pressure prompted the South Koreans to release him earlier than he would have been otherwise."

"Someone please explain this to me... Vallejo is what? Holding a grudge against me for identifying him over twenty-five years ago?" Jacob asked.

"It's a possibility," Hotch said. "We don't know for certain."

"All this could be happening because of my connection to Vallejo?"

"We don't know if it _**is**_ Vallejo," Rossi inserted. "He could have nothing to do with it. However, even if he _**is**_ our UnSub, the murders are not happening _**because**_ of you. He would still be killing them. Your only connection would be where the bodies are being dumped."

"Then why wait twenty years?" Jacob asked.

"Would Vallejo come all the way from Australia to Alaska just to dump the bodies near Sheriff Reischl?" Prentiss asked.

"If it is Vallejo it could be it took him this long to find Sheriff Reischl and to decide this is what he wanted to do. Or it could even be he ended up in Alaska for some other reason and found out after he was already here the Sheriff was also living here. After all he's been out twenty years and Sheriff Reischl has only been living here a little over ten years, and we don't know yet if Vallejo is really here or for how long if he is," Reid said.

"We'll know the answers to all these questions when we find Vallejo and ask him," Morgan said.

"Okay," Hotch said. "JJ, Rossi, Prentiss and I have to meet with some friends of Christina Belkas in about twenty minutes, and then later we are talking to her boyfriend. We'll need to end the call now."

As soon as Hotch finished speaking Jacob stood up and headed for the door. "I need some air," he said as he left.

"He's...upset," Talbot, who had been quietly sitting at his desk during the conversation, said.

"I suppose I would be also," Reid commented.

"Talk to you later kid," Morgan said as he also disconnected.

XX

Reid walked outside and found Jacob was nowhere in sight. He headed in the direction of the school and soon spotted him sitting on a picnic table with his feet resting on the bench. Reid quietly climbed up on the table and sat next to him. He looked at him and then looked straight ahead in the same direction Jacob was looking. "Sheriff, this is not his first kill."

"Excuse me?"

"This can't be his first kill. He is too methodical and detail oriented. This took too much planning and thought to carry off for him not to have had previous experience."

Jacob sighed. "Is that supposed to make me feel better Agent Reid?"

"You need to let yourself off the hook Sheriff. None of this is your fault."

"Try telling that to those girls and their families."

Reid sighed. "Garcia is looking for more information on Vallejo. She's still trying to determine his current location." When Jacob did not reply Reid added, "Sheriff, I repeat this is _**not**_ your fault."

"I feel like it is my fault."

"You did the right thing telling the authorities in South Korea what you knew."

"Logically I know that..."

"You're very good at your job."

"Thank you Agent Reid."

"I mean it Sheriff. It's not easy being in law enforcement; you not only have to enforce the law, you also have to be a counselor, give advice, be a good judge of character, exhibit a professional attitude, know your people, show compassion..."

"I need to make my patrol," Jacob said as he stood up.

"Talbot said to tell you he was taking care of it and he would see you in a couple of hours."

Jacob smiled slightly and sat back down. "You know, it was Duane's father who suggested I look for employment in Alaska. And of course Larry thought it was a great idea." He leaned back on his elbows. "Of course Larry was hoping I would end up closer to Barrow than this..." He looked to his left. "Don't look now Agent Reid, but there is a group of students headed this way." He looked at Reid. "Hope you're prepared."

The two men were soon surrounded by several students clamoring for Reid to show them another magic trick. Reid performed what he thought was simple yet convincing trick. He rolled a piece of paper into a cone shape and took a bottle of water out of his shoulder bag. He then poured the water into the paper like it was a cup. The students watched with their mouths open as the water was poured into the cone but did not leak out the other end. Reid then unrolled the paper and asked the students what had happened to the water and why the paper was not wet. A few minutes later he walked away laughing as the students asked him how he had done it. "A magician never reveals his secrets," he called back as he waved to the students, who waved back.

"You're good," Jacob laughed as the two men headed back toward his office.

Reid made a face. "I think I need to think of something a little more complicated to show them next time," he said.

"That one worked just fine," Jacob commented as he reached for his ringing cell phone. "Hello... Agent Morgan, hello. I didn't expect to hear from you so quickly... What? I have no idea what you are talking about... What does that have to do with anything anyway?" Jacob listened for a moment and then sighed. "Okay, on my way back to the office now."

"What is it?"

"Agent Morgan said Miss Garcia has uncovered some more information regarding Vallejo. He wanted to know why I had not told him a relative of Duane's lives here in Weird. I told him I had no idea who he was referring to, and what did that have to do with anything."

"And he said plenty, it means the UnSub could be trying to get back at you and by extension your friend Duane through his family since he can't get back at him personally."

Jacob sighed again. "That does make sense, and had I known I would have thought about it myself most likely." He shook his head. "Makes me wonder how Vallejo would know if I didn't."

Reid casually asked, "Who is it?"

"I don't know, but we're about to find out," Jacob responded as they walked up the steps to his office.

XXXX


	15. Author's Note

-1 _**AUTHOR'S NOTE **_

Hi Everyone,

Sorry, no actual update!

I apologize for the length of time since my last update. I have been trying to do my best to work on updates, but I have had a bit of writer's block and I have not had the time to work on my story updates that I would like to have. However, I would like to assure you that I have _**not**_, repeat _**not**_ abandoned _'Weird, Alaska'_. I will post an update as soon as I can get to it!

In the meantime, please read my short story _**'8:46'**_ at Associated Content. I've had to split up the URL because of Fan Fiction . net, but you can eliminate the spaces or find the link on my profile. I also welcome your comments on this story after you read it. There is a comment form under the story there.

'_**8:46'**_- A story of September 11, 2001- A young man who could have died September 11, 2001 is left to deal with his survival and to question why he lived when so many others did not.

http : / www . associatedcontent . com / article / 8331355 / 846 . html ? cat = 44

http : / www. associatedcontent . com / article / 8331355 / 846 . html ? cat = 44

Thanks everyone for your patience!

Gail, aka 'SayidRocks'


	16. Chapter 15

_**'Weird, Alaska'**_

Chapter Fifteen

Jacob walked into his office with Reid right behind him. "I believe we are supposed to wait for Agent Morgan to call back and set us up on a conference call with Agents Hotchner and Rossi."

"What about Duane's family member?" Reid asked.

"Agent Morgan said they asked Wade to go get him and bring him here."

"Him? So, it's a male?"

Jacob sighed. "Apparently so."

"Well...at least you know it's not Edith."

Jacob chuckled as he sat down in his chair and waved Reid to a chair opposite him. "Thank God for that." Both men turned as the office door opened and Colin walked in followed by Deputy Talbot. "Colin?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, it's me. And would you please explain why Wade just dragged me away from the project I was working on and made me come over here?" Colin folded his arms in front of his chest and glared at Jacob.

"What sort of project were you working on?" Reid asked.

Colin looked at him. "I write software programs for a living. I've been working on some ideas for a new video game I'm trying to develop." He looked at Wade. "That is until Wade interrupted me." Wade shrugged ad looked at Jacob expectantly.

"Colin, why didn't you ever tell me you are related to Duane Sanchez?"

"Who?"

Jacob opened his mouth to answer just as the phone rang. "Sheriff Reischl." He listened for a moment and then put the phone on speaker. "Can you hear me Agent Hotchner?" he asked.

"Yes Sheriff, I can hear you. Is everyone there?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Kramer, can you hear me?"

"Uh...yes," Colin answered tentatively.

"Agent Morgan informed us our tech has discovered you were related to Lieutenant Duane Sanchez?"

"Uh...who?"

"This is Agent Rossi. Our tech discovered you were related to someone who may have a connection to this case. His name is Sanchez."

"Look, I don't know who... Wait! Did you say Sanchez?"

Jacob sighed. "Yes, Colin. Sanchez. Lieutenant Duane Sanchez."

"Uh...Sanchez is my mother's maiden name," Colin said sheepishly.

Jacob shook his head. "But you don't know who Duane is?"

"He, uh... Well, I think he might be her cousin, which would make him my second cousin, I guess."

"Colin, Duane was an old army buddy of mine. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"How the hell was I supposed to know some cousin I'm not even sure I've ever met is a friend of yours?"

"Mr. Kramer, this is Agent Morgan. Would your mother have known about her cousin's connection to Sheriff Reischl?"

"Maybe. I could ask her. She's never met Jacob, though. And Jacob has lived here longer than I have."

"Would you mind calling and asking her, please?" Hotch requested.

"Jacob, can I...?"

Without a word Jacob handed Colin his phone and pointed toward the nearby room the team had been using. As soon as Colin walked away, Jacob rested his forehead on one hand and said, "God save me." He looked over at Wade, who was attempting to suppress a smirk. "What are you laughing at, Wade?"

Talbot shrugged. "Nothing Jacob."

Morgan cleared his throat. "We don't know if this means anything, Sheriff. Especially when you consider that neither of you were aware you had a connection."

"It could just be a coincidence," Prentiss added.

"Don't you find that a little hard to believe, Agent Prentiss?"

"Well..."

"How are things going with the Belkas family?" Reid asked.

"JJ is with her parents right now," Rossi answered. "One of her friends told us she thought Christina had applied for a job with a trucking company, but she wasn't sure which one. All her parents are sure of is that she had applied to some jobs out of state."

"Do we know what job sites she might have used? Could we possibly request records of jobs she might have applied to, who the possible employers were, and so on?" Jacob asked.

"We're working on that right now," Hotch replied.

"At what point did she disappear?" Reid asked.

"She went for a job interview a week ago and was never heard from again," Rossi answered. "It took a couple of days for her to be missed, because her parents were out of town the day of the interview."

"Ahem..." Reid, Jacob and Talbot turned to look at Colin, who was standing in the doorway.

"Yes, Colin?" Jack said expectantly.

Colin walked over and handed Jacob's cell phone back to him. "Uh, my mother said the reason she suggested I look into a house in Weird in the first place was because she knew Duane's friend lived here, and she though he, meaning you I guess, might be a good influence on me."

Jacob shook his head. "Colin, why don't you go in the library and pick out a book?"

"Did you get the new David Baldacci in?"

Jacob looked up at him and said in exasperation, "Colin, go look! Under 'B' for Baldacci! B-a-l-d-a-c-c-i!"

Colin looked at him strangely. "Calm down, Jacob! Take a Valium, or a chill pill or something." He walked off.

Jacob shook his head and looked at Wade, then at Reid. "Sorry everyone. I think I might have overreacted a little there."

"Perfectly fine," Rossi said.

"Colin can be a little frustrating sometimes," Wade said.

"Right. But if he didn't know, he didn't know. That's certainly not his fault," Jacob responded.

"Sheriff," Prentissaid. "If you don't mind my asking, why would Colin's mother think you would be a good influence on him?"

Jacob sighed. "Well, it's really no secret Colin was a kind of a wild kid as a teenager."

"If you never met his mother, how would she know what kind of influence you would be?" Reid asked.

"She must have gotten it from Duane. Maybe he mentioned me in letters, or phone calls; I don't know. He always said I was pretty straight laced and sensible." Jacob shrugged. "I guess I am."

"Excuse me," Garcia piped in. "Hotch?"

"Yes, Garcia?"

"I've been looking at Christina Belkas' bank accounts and credit card records. It turns out she used her VISA card to purchase an airline ticket on Alaska Airlines to Fairbanks. I'm on hold with the airline attempting to find out if it was actually used."

"She obviously got here," Morgan said. "Did her parents know about the ticket?"

"I called JJ and she asked them. They say they did not know, but she had told them she was planning a trip with friends. That was one reason she did not go with them when they went out of town."

"What day was the ticket for?" Reid asked.

"It was for the day after she was last seen," Garcia answered. "Therefore, if it was used, it may have been used by someone else."

"That's odd," Reid said.

"If she was planning on coming up to Alaska anyway, what would be the point in grabbing her the day before she was supposed to leave?" Talbot asked.

"Good question, Deputy Talbot," Rossi said.

"Rossi and I have a couple more people to talk to. Let's wrap this up right here," Hotch said. "Sheriff, can you speak to Colin and try to find out who else may know there is a connection between you and his cousin?"

"I can try."

A few minutes later Colin came out of the library carrying two books. "I didn't see the new David Baldacci, but I did find a Vince Flynn book I missed. I've been trying to read his in order. I picked up a Lee Child one also."

"Colin, can you please do me a favor and ask your mother who else may have known about your cousin and I being friends?"

"I can ask. But, I doubt it was a big secret. Although obviously she forgot to tell me."

"Perhaps she felt f you didn't know you would be more likely to accept any advice he wanted to provide," Reid said.

Colin shrugged. "Maybe." He looked at Jacob. "Can I go now?"

"Go ahead. Leave." Colin made a face at Jacob as he headed for the door. "And don't forget to talk to your mother again," Jacob called after him.

"It seems obvious that, even though Miss Belkas' parents knew she was applying to jobs out of town, they were not actually aware she was planning on coming to Alaska," Reid said.

"What does that tell us?" Wade asked.

"Perhaps they just didn't want her coming this far?" Jacob suggested. "Some people still see Alaska as the last frontier. Maybe she felt they wouldn't think it was safe for her to come up here. She apparently told them she was planning a trip with friends, but not that she was flying to Alaska."

Wade stood up. "Jacob, it's okay with you, I'm going to head home for dinner."

"Sure, go ahead Wade."

Wade picked up his hat and left the office. Reid commented, "Dinner? Did we forget about lunch?" He looked at his watch.

Jacob laughed. "I guess we skipped it." He stood up. "So Agent Reid, what do you think? Should we go bug Carla again, or should we cook for ourselves?"

"I'm not much of a cook."

"I actually am a good cook. But I don't feel like it right now. Let's head for the diner, shall we?"

WWWW

A couple hours after he and Jacob finished eating dinner, Reid sat on the table in Jacob's office looking at the map of Alaska he had mounted on the wall. He didn't exactly feel like he was missing something; however, he did feel as though he should have figured out more than he had. Unless the team was completely off base with their belief in some sort of connection to Sheriff Reischl, there had to be something they hadn't connected the dots on yet. He simply could not figure out what it was. He looked down at his cell phone as it buzzed. "Hey, JJ. What's up?"

"I just finished talking to Christina's boyfriend. She wasn't going to Alaska for a job at all. She was applying to the Archaeological Field School at Adelphi University."

"Why would she not tell her parents about that?"

"I'm not sure. When I informed them of her plans, her father seemed to think she may have been afraid they would try to talk her into a more stable occupation."

"I'm not sure now what direction this sends us in. Adelphi University... That's not in Alaska."

"No, it isn't. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you know that," JJ said with a chuckle. "But their Field School was in Talkeetna in 2011; and in 2013 they are holding it in the same location, as well another one in Crete."

"So, she was trying to secure a spot in 2013?"

"Yes."

"Something else to think about. What do Hotch and Rossi think?"

"Probably the same thing you are thinking. Who knew about her plans, and if she was going to Alaska anyway, why grab her so that you have to get her there yourself?"

"You know how I feel about coincidences, JJ!"

"Yes."

"It couldn't be that she was kidnapped and brought to Alaska, and the crime has no connection to her plans?"

"It could be, but..."

Reid shook his head. "I need to think about this some more. I'll talk to you tomorrow, JJ." After hanging up with JJ, Reid sat for a few minutes trying to figure out in his head what all this new information meant. Could Christina Belkas' plans to study in Alaska have no bearing on her being killed in Alaska? Was her job search related to her academic plans? Had her airline ticket been used? And, what did any of it have to do with Jacob Reischl? Did Colin living in the same town as an old friend of his cousin's mean anything? Was any of it related at all? Hopefully when Alfred Vallejo was located they would be able to find more answers.

Reid's cell phone buzzed again, just as Sheriff Reischl and Deputy Talbot walked in the door after completing their nightly patrol. "Are you still working Agent Reid?" Wade asked.

"Are you sure?" Reid was asking.

"Of course I'm sure, kid! Garcia and I both read three different newspaper accounts of it online, Morgan responded.

"Have you told Hotch and Rossi yet?"

"I planned on calling them after I talked to you."

"Thanks, Morgan." Reid hung up the phone and looked at Jacob.

"Well?" Jacob said expectantly.

"That was Morgan. Garcia found out it couldn't be Alfred Vallejo killing our victims."

"Why?" Jacob asked. "Is he still in Australia or something?"

Reid nodded. "Yes. He's also dead."

"What?"

"Alfred Vallejo died in 2009 from injuries sustained in an accident. He could not possibly be our unsub."

WWWW


End file.
